Permit Narrative-WF-edits-11-20-2019Questions from online permit application
Existing Use of your Structure or Property:
The existing propertyconsists of an 18-hole golf course onroughly 105-acres is located at 254 Old Wilson Road. The property also includes a single-family home, clubhouse, parking lot,
maintenance building, and several small sheds and outbuildings for storage, well pumps, and other needsalso exist on the property.
Describe planned use, your proposed project, and your request in DETAIL (include relevant sections of regulations) AND whether you have discussed this with your neighbors:
The project proposes
to create 5 new residential lots on roughly 18-acres of the overall property. A portion of the land will be dedicated to open space to comply with the cluster open space requirements
and the remainder of the land and golf course will be sold to the City of Northampton for conservation purposes to add to its Rocky Hill Greenway for eventual restoration. All existing
structures are proposed to be removed. One of the new lots is proposed as a frontage lot along Old Wilson Road in the vicinity of the existing house. A second lot, also accessed from
Old Wilson Road, is proposed as a flag lot underSection 350-6.10. The remaining 3 lots are proposed to be accessed off a common drive allowable under Section 350-8.8(R). The existing
access drive for the clubhouse is proposed to serve as the common drive for some of the homes. Additional driveway length will be required to access at least one of the new house lots.
Describe in detail how you meet ALL SEVEN requirements:
Will protect adjoining premises from seriously detrimental uses.
The project is designed to minimize impacts to adjoining premises. The new house lots are largely proposed in locations where structures or other development is currently located. Existing
driveways and other infrastructure are proposed to remain to the extent feasible in an order to minimize overall disturbance. Storm water will be managed according to the requirements
of the Northampton DPW so as not to create any downstream impacts and will be overland flow at the property boundary with the new Rocky Hill Greenway to avoid the underground drainage
system that the City plans to eventually remove. Overall, the proposed residential use of a portion of the property combined with the future conservation land will result in less overall
impacts to adjoining properties.
Will minimize and mitigate traffic impacts.
Traffic impacts will be reduced over the current condition. Currently, the site operates as a commercial golf course including a parking lot with a capacity of roughly 150 cars. Under
this proposal, a total of 5-single family homes will be constructed on roughly 18-acres of the overall 105+ acres. The change in use will reduce the overall traffic volume on Old Wilson
Road and on neighboring streets.
Promote a harmonious relationship of structures and open space.
One of the primary goals of the project is to provide the City of Northampton with additional open space. By protecting an excess of 105-acres of the former golf course as part of the
Rocky Hill Greenway, the majority of this land will remain protected in perpetuity. The existing structures on the property will be removed including the current parking lot. These will
be replaced by 5-single family homes which will result in an overall decrease in impervious coverproviding more open space than currently exists.
Protect the general welfare.
The project proposes the construction of 5-single family homes which will replace the existing golf course operations. The resulting development will offer more protection to the general
welfare than the existing public golf course facility. The Rocky Hill Greenway will provide wildlife habitat, climate mitigation (holding stormwater longer on site and reducing heat
islands by planting more trees) and climate regeneration (increasing carbon sequestration and carbon storage in trees and soil).
Avoid overloading and mitigate impacts on City resources.
This project will have net positive impacts on City resources given the residential use and systems designed to handle storm water and other utilities and the dramatic increase in stormwater
storage in the restored Rocky Hill Greenway/former golf course).
Promote city planning objectives (see Sustainable Northampton, Open Space Plan, and Transportation Plan).
The project is in keeping with City goals of providing additional protected open space with over 105 acres of the former golf course being conveyed to the City of Northampton and providing
trail connections from Old Wilson Road to the planned Rocky Hill Greenway trail and the existing New Haven and Northampton shared use paths.
Meet all zoning requirements.
This project meets or exceeds all of the current zoning requirements.
Address how you meet ALL THREE of the criteria below to improve circulation and reduce traffic and parking and any other related mitigation:
Minimizing curb cuts, using only ONE unless traffic safety requires more, and using access from a common driveway, shared service road, or exiting side street when possible.
The project proposes to utilize the existing access drive for the golf course as the common drive for three of the house lots as well as the existing driveway curb cut for the frontage
lot on Old Wilson Road. No curb opening for the flag lot exists so a new curb cut will be required for that lot. Of the five new house lots that are proposed, only one will require a
new curb cut.
Separation on-site of pedestrians, bicycles, and vehicles.
Vehicle, pedestrian and bicycle traffic has been separated to the extent possible considering the project is for 5-single family homes. All five homes will directly abut the Rocky Hill
Greenway, providing continuous trail access from their homes all the way to downtown Northampton and other points along the city’s shared use trail system.
Reducing parking demand and reducing the number of required parking spaces (provide detail on any request to reduce the number of parking spaces.)
The project is proposing to remove the current parking lot and facilities which serve the golf course. The total number of parking spaces will be reduced from 150+ now provided by the
golf course to only those spaces required for each single family home (garage & driveway).
Describe in detail how your project will avoid traffic conflicts where traffic accesses your site, including any traffic mitigation at your curb cut.The proposed project will utilize
the existing curb cut(s) which now provide access to the property off Old Wilson Road. The current driveway now provides public access to the clubhouse and parking lot, both of which
will be removed as part of this project. As a result of the change in use, traffic impacts at the site access point will be reduced over current conditions. We anticipate that this project
will not generate any new traffic conflicts.
Describe in detail how your project mitigates all off-site (beyond your driveway access point) traffic using one of the following three approaches:
Providing off-site traffic improvements or public bicycle and pedestrian improvements in accordance with the Zoning.
The proposed project(s) will generate fewer vehicle trips than the existing use and is therefore not providing any off-site traffic improvements.
Paying payment-in-lieu of traffic, bicycle, and pedestrian improvements in accordance with the Zoning.
The project is not proposing a payment-in-lieu due to the overall reduction in vehicle trips.
Providing clear documentation as to why your project does not generate any new traffic.
The project site currently consists of an 18-hole public golf course in existence since the 1960’s. This project will close the current course, provide the City of Northampton with over
100-acres of conservation land and proposes five new single-single family homes which will generate much lass traffic than the golf course.
List any waivers from the requirements that the plans include the following, along with the reasons for those waivers:
(See Permit Application for list of waivers)