Flooding is already an issue for many residents around North Street. Kohl Construction’s proposed condo development–with its 31 units, 66 parking spaces, and associated access roads–is likely to make things worse. The 5.49-acre project will replace a good portion of the neighborhood’s water-absorbing woodland with impervious surfaces. Here are recent flooding incidents as reported to the Northampton Fire […]
Continue reading Flooding Incidents in the North Street Neighborhood: 2003-2007
If one looks at the woods behind North Street at night, their most striking feature is that they are dark. Very dark. According to The New Yorker, many creatures like it that way. From “The Dark Side”, 8/20/07Deer…have excellent nighttime vision but appear extremely vulnerable to temporary blinding by bright light…Although nighttime lighting has seldom been […]
Continue reading The Environment Says: The Woods Are Lovely When They’re Dark and Deep
The Code of the Town of Wayland, MA (Chapter 194) calls for permits before work can be done within a 100-foot buffer zone around swamps, vernal pools, streams, and other specified resource areas. We have emphasized certain passages with bold type. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a greater degree of protection of […]
Barnstable is another Massachusetts community that emphasizes the importance of a 50-foot undisturbed zone around wetlands. Its regulations (PDF) state: …An undisturbed buffer zone 50 ft. in width shall be provided between wetland resource areas and the limit of site disturbance. It is recommended that proposed structures within the buffer zone be located no closer […]
Monday’s Gazette reports on erosion near a new subdivision in Southampton. There may be lessons with respect to the use of detention basins to manage stormwater. From “Southampton riverbank erosion under scrutiny”: Conservation officials here are still trying to determine whether a spring ‘blowout’ that dislodged thousands of pounds of sand from a wooded slope […]
Continue reading Gazette: Erosion Near New Southampton Subdivision: Detention Basin Under Scrutiny
As with protection for significant trees, once again our friends in Springfield are outpacing Northampton when it comes to environmental protection. Here are excerpts from Springfield’s Wetland Protection Regulations currently in force. We have emphasized selected passages with bold type.Contrast Springfield’s regulations with the ones that will come before Northampton’s City Council on September 6. […]
Daryl LaFleur urges the long view in “Northampton developments: Barrett Street Marsh in Jeopardy”, published yesterday on Northampton Redoubt. We have emphasized certain passages with bold type. Mr. Kohl is an influential real estate developer in the greater Northampton area. He purchased Thornes Marketplace for $6.4 million in 2006 according to media reports and has helped […]
Continue reading Northampton Redoubt: Urban Ecology, Planting Trees, and the Long-Term View
A flag on a map can indicate flood damage from a storm like Floyd, but the human impact of groundwater and sewage issues is best told by current and former residents. Irene Carlberg, Noreen Beebe and Donna Cavanagh have kindly provided us with their testimony, borne of years of experience of living in the North […]
Continue reading Letters from Residents Describe Groundwater and Sewage Issues Around North Street
On September 2, 2004, the Northampton City Council approved a Flood and Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan (PDF). The Project Manager for developing this plan was Gloria McPherson, Conservation and Land Use Planner. Ms. McPherson now works for Kohl Construction. Here are key highlights from the plan with respect to NSNA’s objectives, followed by an expanded overview. […]
In a significant victory for NSNA, Northampton’s Conservation Commission voted tonight to delay until spring its review of vernal pool delineation on Kohl Construction’s proposed condo site behind North Street. In its original Wetlands Application (PDF) filed several weeks ago with the city, Kohl asserted there were no existing or potential vernal pools on the site:After […]