Here is a complete blip.tv video of the 6/30/10 meeting of Northampton’s Zoning Revisions Committee. The meeting includes an extended discussion of King Street and rezoning proposals recently put forth by the Chamber of Commerce (PDF). This video is 2 hours 18 minutes long and was recorded by Ken Mitchell.
See also:
Chamber Plans to Take King Street Proposals to Planning Board if Zoning Revisions Committee ‘Bogs Down’ in Process (6/25/10)
Dennis Bidwell, member of the Zoning Revisions Committee and chair of the Chamber of Commerce’s Economic Development Committee, advises: “If we get to September, we get to October, and we’re feeling like it’s bogged down in process, and meanwhile, folks are waiting for something to happen, we [the Chamber] would go to the Planning Board and say, ‘Act on it’.”
Video: Chamber Presents “Rezoning King Street” to Planning Board (6/13/10)
Potential areas of controversy include:
- Allowing more uses without a Special Permit, including hotels. A recent proposal to build a Hilton Garden Inn downtown was extremely controversial. One way to address the public’s desire for good design would be robust infill design standards.
- Reducing the setbacks between commercial areas and residential neighborhoods
- Stormwater management problems caused by an increase in impervious surface
Download Envisioning Sustainable Northampton – Final Notre Dame Studio Presentation Book
Envisioning Sustainable Northampton: Notre Dame Urban Design Presentation – Video and Handout
Envisioning Sustainable Northampton: Notre Dame Urban Design Presentation – Slides