Members of Northampton’s Best Practices Committee have just made available this transcription of some of the citizen comments from their public forum of May 13. We added a small amount of formatting to improve readability. Click for video of the public forum and see pictures of the comments as they were written. The committee has […]
Continue reading Transcribed Public Comments from the Best Practices Forum of May 13
On May 20, members of Northampton’s Best Practices Committee held a morning workshop to evaluate input from their May 13 public forum. One of the exercises at the forum invited citizens to write comments about major city issues on large sheets of paper (see pictures below). Much of the workshop was devoted to determining how […]
In the back of the Sustainable Northampton Plan, you’ll find results from a 2006 opinion survey (Appendix B, p.71-80). At first blush, it appears that Smart Growth principles such as densification and transit-oriented development are popular: 89% of respondents agreed that “Development Should Be Encouraged At Densities And Locations That Can Support Transit”. The problem […]
Continue reading Portland, Oregon Voters Sour on Densification Over Time
Northampton’s Best Practices Committee hosted its first public forum on May 13. Dozens of citizens and several city councilors attended. The goal was to brainstorm about ways to improve the city government’s decision-making process. Jason Heffner facilitated. This Google video shows about one hour of the two-hour-long meeting. Quiet periods and small-group sessions are omitted. […]
Continue reading Best Practices: Pictures and Video from the May 13 Public Forum
Northampton’s Planning Board took 30 minutes on May 8 to discuss issues with the implementation of a parking and traffic plan worked out last year for the soccer fields at the Oxbow. The board seeks heavier usage of an auxiliary parking lot to reduce traffic on Island Road. Here is a video of the discussion: […]
Continue reading Video: Planning Board Sharpens Up Parking Recommendations for Oxbow Soccer Fields
Randal O’Toole of the Thoreau Institute most kindly assembled a photo tour of Portland, Oregon for us. For a generation Portland has been a stronghold of Smart Growth planning. Mr. O’Toole provides the following narrative: What we see happening is that planners are never satisfied — let them densify you a little bit, and they […]
Continue reading Portland: A Photo Tour of Spiraling Densification
An intriguing public meeting is on tap for Wednesday. The Northampton Redevelopment Authority will discuss changing the rules at the Industrial Park… NORTHAMPTON REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY 6:00 PM Wednesday May 7, 2008 Consider repealing the Industrial Park Covenants regulating the redevelopment of the Northampton Industrial Park. Discuss possible future directions of the Northampton Redevelopment Authority. Any […]
Concerned citizens are urged to attend the May 8 meeting of Northampton’s Planning Board. Among other things, it looks like green roofs may be classified as “open space”. In effect, this implies some open space will become privatized, as the public may not have access to these green roofs… NORTHAMPTON PUBLIC MEETING FOR Thursday May […]
Continue reading May 8: Planning Board Revisits Sustainable Northampton; Green Roofs = Open Space?
We encourage citizens to attend this public forum on best practices in Northampton city government. Here is the agenda from the Best Practices Google Group: Agenda Best Practices Public Forum #1 When: May 13th, 2008 7:00 – 9:00 pm Where: Jackson Street School Facilitator: Lisa DePiano Topic Time History & mission of BPC, intro […]
Continue reading May 13: Best Practices Forum at JFK Middle School
Los Angeles shows what can happen when developers perceive profits in density, public officials egg them on, newspapers are quiescent, and citizens are asleep at the switch. LA Weekly reports: City Hall’s “Density Hawks” Are Changing L.A.’s DNA (2/27/08) …Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavksy…has been staging a one-man campaign to slow City Hall’s feverish […]
Continue reading LA Weekly: “City Hall’s ‘Density Hawks’ Are Changing L.A.’s DNA