Northampton Web Log

As a Ward 4 City Council candidate, these are my concerns over aspects of the Development Agreement signed by Smith College Trustees and the Mayor of Northampton, which requires City Council to approve or reject, without amendment.

I feel Northampton’s Sustainability Plan should be completed before approving these types of agreements. Moreover, City Councilors should have had an opportunity to help forge this agreement and meet with the Trustees.

The Agreement allows Smith to replace housing outside of the downtown area, which opens the possibility of more rapid consumption of our open space. With over one hundred housing units to be removed from the West/Green Street area; where will replacement housing be located? Furthermore, the agreement does not necessarily require that the replacement housing stay affordable, because it allows for exceptions to the affordability requirements.

The $2,500 allowance for relocation assistance payable to displaced residents should be connected to the inflation rate because relocation expenses thirty years from now will be considerably greater than they are today.

The proposed district is bounded by Kensington Avenue, Elm Street, Round Hill Road, State Street, West Street, and the former Northampton State Hospital. For streets within this district, the height requirement for buildings is at least fifty-five feet up to eighty-five feet; allowing new buildings this height does not match the height of buildings that exist now and does not follow Smart Growth principles.

With regards to discontinuing parts of Arnold and Belmont Avenues and Green Street, the agreement should indicate how much, if any, compensation Smith will provide the City for acquiring these municipal properties, and account for any loss of parking meter revenues.

Finally, the city should consider creating an ordinance that would limit the bulk (square footage) of Dover Institutions, as allowed by Massachusetts Law, Chapter 40A.