Minutes.03-04-09 VILLAGE HILL NORTHAMPTON
CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Mayor’s Office
210 Main Street Room 12
Northampton, MA 01060-3199
(413) 587-1249 Fax: (413) 587-1275
mayor@northamptonma.gov
State Senator Stanley C. Rosenberg
Ex-Officio
State Representative Peter Kocot
Ex-Officio
___________________________
Mary Clare Higgins, Mayor
City of Northampton
David Narkewicz
City Council Industrial Affairs Committee
David Modzelewski
Department of Mental Health
Reverend R. Leroy Moser
National Alliance for the Mentally Ill
of Western Mass., Inc.
Rutherford H. Platt
National Alliance for the Mentally Ill
of Western Mass., Inc.
Edward Skroski
Northampton Development Corporation
Charles DeRose
Northampton Development Corporation
Daniel Yacuzzo
Northampton Chamber of Commerce
Bruce Fogel, Esq.
Northampton Chamber of Commerce
Michael Rabourn
Northampton Labor Council
John W. Hornor
Northampton Housing Partnership
Francis A. Johnson
Northampton Planning Board
David Drake
Historical Preservation
Joe Blumenthal
Route 66 Neighborhood Representative
Harriet Diamond
Grove Street Neighborhood Representative
Jami Albro-Fisher
Route 10 Neighborhood Representative
MEETING MINUTES
Citizens Advisory Committee
for Village Hill Northampton
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
5:00 pm
John F. Kennedy Middle School
in the community room
Present: Members of the Citizens Advisory Committee
Name:
As representative of:
Mayor Mary Clare Higgins
City of Northampton
Jami Albro-Fisher
Route 10 Neighborhood
Joseph Blumenthal
Route 66 Neighborhood
Charles DeRose
Northampton Development Corporation
Harriet Diamond
Grove Street Neighborhood
Bruce Fogel, Esq.
Northampton Chamber of Commerce
Francis A. Johnson
Northampton Planning Board
David Modzelewski
Department of Mental Health
David Narkewicz
City Council
Michael Rabourn
Northampton Labor Council
Edward Skroski
Northampton Development Corporation
Daniel Yacuzzo
Northampton Chamber of Commerce
Absent: Members of the Citizens Advisory Committee
Name:
As representative of:
David Drake
Historical Preservation
John W. Hornor
(formerly) Northampton Housing Partnership
Rev. R. Leroy Moser
National Alliance for the Mentally Ill
Rutherford Platt
National Alliance for the Mentally Ill
City Staffers & Board Members:
Teri Anderson
Economic Development Coordinator
Wayne Feiden
Director of Planning and Development
Development Team:
MassDevelopment Elizabeth Murphy Vice Pres. Of Real Estate Development and
Project Manager of Village Hill Robert Kaye Senior Vice Pres. Of Real Estate Development
Media, Residents & Others:
Mark Roessler The Valley Advocate Barbara Blumenthal Chapel Street resident Patrick Goggins Real estate developer on Village Hill
1. Call to Order
Mayor Higgins called the meeting to order at 5:15 p.m.
2. Approval of Minutes
Approval of the minutes for the following meetings was moved, second, and voted unanimously in the affirmative:
December 1, 2008
December 9, 2008
3. Formal Vote on Adoption of the Conceptual Illustrative Master Plan
Mayor Higgins, CAC chair: Explained that the CAC still needed to take a formal vote to approve and endorse the Illustrative Master Plan to reflect its 12/09/08 vote to approve 100 additional
housing units.
MOTION:
To approve the illustrative concept Master Plan for Village Hill Northampton prepared by Arrowstreet Associates, Inc. dated 12/09/08 and showing a full buildout of 289 housing units,
and to approve the two alternate illustrative concept Master Plans prepared by Arrowstreet Associates, Inc. dated 12/09/08 and each showing a full buildout of 327 housing units.
Moved: Charles DeRose
Seconded: David Modzelewski
Beth Murphy, MassDevelopment: Displayed blowups on easels of the Illustrative Master Plan plus two alternatives differing mainly in the bungalows area. Challenge: how to locate the 100
additional housing units.
Daniel Yacuzzo, CAC: I am concerned about the enthusiasm the CAC initially had for Jonathan Wright building the high-end units versus now our not giving him direction such as lot size
and deed restriction. I worry that he still will have a difficult time.
Mayor Higgins, CAC chair Is it true that what Jonathan Wright’s tenants on Village Hill will see has not really changed?
Beth Murphy, MassDevelopment: Correct.
Wayne Feiden, Director of Planning and Development: The predictability of what Jonathan Wright’s section of Village Hill will look like is one thing. What matters more than the size
of the lot is the design of the buildings, protected by the Design Guidelines of the North Campus.
Teri Anderson, Economic Development Coordinator: Jonathan Wright has spoken about the importance of getting this vote on record but he has not stated he is having trouble proceeding.
Joseph Blumenthal, CAC: This goes to the heart of the reason why I did not vote in favor of the 100 additional housing units. We have tipped the balance of the housing toward the multi-housing
level. Thus, Jonathan Wright will indeed have trouble selling the two already built units, never mind the 8 additional homes yet to be built. Anyone willing to spend that much money
for a house will want to be surrounded by similar houses. The CAC and the developers are making a mistake in upsetting the balance of housing.
Daniel Yacuzzo, CAC: If bungalows become the commodity that sells, where do Jonathan Wright’s buyers find comfort that these bungalows won’t be of the modular type?
Wayne Feiden, Director of Planning and Development: They are designed to be attractive and of friendly scale throughout the North Campus.
Beth Murphy, MassDevelopment: The design guidelines aim toward attractive units, which always has been the goal of MassDevelopment from the beginning.
Joseph Blumenthal, CAC: The design guidelines are not the issue. I find the guidelines quite acceptable overall. The issue is that there was more of a housing mix on Village Hill earlier.
Teri Anderson, Economic Development Coordinator: Spoke on behalf of CAC member Jack Hornor who was unable to attend the meeting:
Jack feels that the CAC does not need to vote for or endorse the Illustrative Master Plan.
Isn’t conceptual design the purview of the Planning Board?
The CAC already has voted to approve 100 additional units of housing.
Councilor David Narkewicz, CAC: The change is that we do not offer a monolithic drawing now. The plan is more conceptual, we are offering multiple alternatives.
Mayor Higgins, CAC chair The CAC has accepted a number of Master Plans as time went by and we have accepted changes. The appearance of Village Hill depends on the Planning Board.
Bruce Fogel, Esq., CAC Why ask me to vote on these plans that are illustrative and dynamic and will change?
Charles DeRose, CAC: That is what we’ve voted on all along.
Daniel Yacuzzo, CAC: May we hear from the Planning Board’s representative to the CAC?
Francis A. Johnson, CAC: Planning Board members absolutely vote on illustrative and likely to change plans all the time.
MOTION To approve the illustrative concept Master Plan for Village Hill Northampton prepared by Arrowstreet Associates, Inc. dated 12/09/08 and showing a full buildout of 289 housing
units, and to approve the two alternate illustrative concept Master Plans prepared by Arrowstreet Associates, Inc. dated 12/09/08 and each showing a full buildout of 327 housing units.
Moved: CHARLES DEROSE
Seconded: DAVID MODZELEWSKI JAMI ALBRO-FISHER yes JOSEPH BLUMENTHAL yes CHARLES DEROSE yes HARRIET DIAMOND abstain DAVID DRAKE absent BRUCE FOGEL, ESQ. yes JOHN W. HORNOR absent FRANDY
JOHNSON yes DAVID MODZELEWSKI yes REV. R. LEROY MOSER absent DAVID NARKEWICZ yes RUTHERFORD H. PLATT absent MICHAEL RABOURN absent
arrived at meeting after the vote was taken EDWARD SKROSKI yes DANIEL YACUZZO yes MAYOR MARY CLARE HIGGINS yes VOTE
TOTAL
(16 CAC members) 10 yes
1 abstain
5 absent
4. Next Steps in the Development Process
Beth Murphy, MassDevelopment: We have applied for Kollmorgen’s subdivision permit; it comes up at the Planning Board’s meeting of 3/26/09. We now are seeking approval of two roads.
5. Update on off-site infrastructure improvements
Beth Murphy, MassDevelopment: Traffic lights will be installed at the main crosswalk at Village Hill Road in anticipation of Kollmorgen’s arrival. Construction begins in April 2009.
At Musante Drive/Prince Street/Burts Pit Road the sidewalk will be extended over to Laurel Street. We will reconstruct Grove Street, Laurel Street and Burts Pit Road down to Prince Street.
The reconstruction of Earle Street will resume. Therefore, there will be a network of new roads all around the site.
Joseph Blumenthal, CAC: Did you say sidewalk and not bikepath would be extended to Laurel Street?
Beth Murphy: The bikepath is a separate project.
Joseph Blumenthal: There will be no bikepath on Laurel Street?
Beth Murphy: Correct.
Beth Murphy, MassDevelopment, pointed out the 3 traffic lights in conjunction with the 4-way intersection.
Michael Rabourn: Have CAC members considered roundabouts instead of traffic lights?
Mayor Higgins, CAC chair Yes.
Councilor David Narkewicz, CAC: Roundabout would not have worked with the slope and retaining walls at that location and the cost was prohibitive.
Harriet Diamond, CAC: Why are there 2 traffic lights? The light at Burts Pit Road is new.
Councilor Narkewicz: To allow traffic to merge off Burts Pit Road.
Harriet Diamond: Will the traffic lights be triggered by traffic sensors?
Robert Kaye, MassDevelopment: Those lights have not been designed yet. I am not sure at this point if they will have the capability for sensors.
Harriet Diamond: I ask because the traffic from Burts Pit Road to Route 66 is minimal. As you back up traffic on Route 66 with traffic lights, you force inbound traffic onto Grove Street
and Laurel Street and onto South Street into downtown.
Councilor Narkewicz: The Transportation and Parking Commission has looked at purchasing a Logix rubberized speed table/hump such as Amherst uses on Lincoln Avenue near the UMass campus.
See City website: http://www.northamptonma.gov/tpc/ and http://www.trafficlogix.com/
Harriet Diamond: So we have a speed hump we might try.
Councilor Narkewicz: The idea is to use the hump placement initially as a laboratory to see how it works. Then we would make it permanent.
Harriet Diamond: The last time the CAC met on this issue, all of these experiments toward mitigation were tentative.
Mayor Higgins, CAC chair How I understood this is that the speed humps themselves are not tentative, just the actual location of these humps at this point in time.
Harriet Diamond: As we stack up street lights on Route 66, cars are forced down onto Grove Street.
Beth Murphy, MassDevelopment: I would like to take another approach: we optimize use of these street lights.
Mayor Higgins: After a certain hour at night the King Street lights become flashing yellow.
Councilor Narkewicz: An example of the street light type we’re discussing is North Maple Street, which is the current MassHighway standard. That traffic light is able to sense an approaching
bicycle.
Robert Kaye, MassDevelopment: It is the State’s Executive Office of Transportation and Safety that oversees the Mass. Highway Department and its traffic light standards.
Wayne Feiden, Director of Planning and Development: The traffic lights project should be referred to the Transportation and Parking Commission and also to the Planning Board.
Harriet Diamond, CAC: Rubberized speed mitigation device will not survive the winter. It needs to become asphalt.
Councilor David Narkewicz, CAC: That is exactly the intention once the locations are finalized. A test period also allows the neighbors to experience exactly what it will be like to
live with speed humps on their street.
Joseph Blumenthal, CAC: Is a traffic light being considered at the intersection of Grove and Laurel Streets?
Beth Murphy, MassDevelopment: I need to check.
Councilor Narkewicz: It would need to meet Federal warrants.
Mayor Higgins, CAC chair Any other questions?
None.
6. Next CAC meeting
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
5:30 p.m.
Date has since been changed to:
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
5:00 p.m. Note earlier start time
at John F. Kennedy Middle School
in the community room
7. Adjournment
Motion to adjourn was moved, seconded, and voted unanimously in the affirmative.
The meeting adjourned at 5:50 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Corinne Philippides
Mayoral Aide
April 30, 2009
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