GiblinCarolyn Misch <cmisch@northamptonma.gov>
Storm Water Concerns on Proposed Plan 107 Williams St.
1 message
Bernadette Giblin <beingiblin@gmail.com>Thu, Mar 10, 2022 at 5:50 PM
To: cmisch@northamptonma.gov
Bernadette Giblin
110 Williams St
Northampton MA 01060
Carolyn Misch, AICP
Northampton Planning Board
RE: 107 Williams St Proposed Development
To Whom It May Concern,
I have lived at 110 William St. Northampton for 35 years. I worked for two decades as an organic landscaping professional. I helped Joanne
Campbell of the Valley CDC to gain support for the Lumber Yard affordable housing development. I wholeheartedly support the City’s effort to
create more market value housing opportunities in Ward 3.
My primary concern is that the proposed development plan will have an adverse storm water runoff impact on our neighborhood. I live in
close proximity to the condominium project on Hockanum Rd. I witnessed firsthand an increased amount of street flooding and personally
experienced greater basement flooding. Many of my neighbors reported similar increases. It took well over a decade for the trees planted there
to reach the necessary maturity to properly minimize the offsite discharge that resulted from that development.
As a result, I’m advocating that the nearly Century old tree at the northeast corner of the site be saved. Conifers intercept more rainfall than
deciduous broadleaf trees. A mature Conifer of this size will be effective at minimizing offsite discharge of approximately 65% while the
immature plantings take a decade to mature and increase in efficiency hopefully resulting in 100% remediation onsite. Integrating this
valuable existing canopy into the storm water management plan may prove advantageous to the developers and result in lower construction
and stormwater costs for the project. Additionally, it will disturb less wildlife and bird habitat.
The only way I propose to save the tree would be to flip the parking lot and the building, basically have the parking lot at the front of the lot
along Williams Street and the building towards the rear. That may require waiving some setback distances to comply with Zoning requirements;
I can’t be sure. The slightly reduced construction costs and reduced drainage impacts result as the access roadway would theoretically be
shorter since it wouldn’t have to run all the way past the building. Instead, a smaller walkway could serve to bring people from the lot to the
units. I believe this alternative allows the tree to be saved and the storm water management benefits in the immediate as opposed to a distant
future. I’d like the Planning Board to please consider the following:
1. Parking with more than 5 spaces is supposed to be spread out to multiple locations onsite. As designed, there’s just a single parking lot. Not
sure if there’s space for 2 parking lots. It would possibly work better to allow for 2 so that the nearly Century old conifer tree may be saved to
maximize the permeability of this site situated in this floodplain.
2. I echo my neighbor’s concerns that the proposed plan for 3+ story building modeled in a contemporary manner doesn’t fit in with a
neighborhood of 2 story buildings generally constructed over 50 years ago. Yet, I am sympathetic that this design provides for the maximum
amount of solar arrays and a vision of greater energy sustainability. Moreover, by making the exception for parking closer to the street with this
building lacking the character for our street scape setback further from the road and the tree allowed to remain doing the work of stormwater
management and providing a natural visual screen.
Honestly, this keystone species value is limitless. Please keep it rooted here on Williams St. for another Century.
Thank You for Your Consideration,
Bernadette Giblin, AOLCP
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Bernadette Giblin, CEO Emeritus of Safeground Organic Analytics
There is more to life than increasing its speed. ~ Gandhi