CPA Extension Request.pdf
245 Main St, Suite 207, Northampton, MA 01060 | (413) 320-4799 | info@growfoodnorthampton.com | www.GrowFoodNorthampton.com
November 2, 2015
Dear Members of the Community Preservation Committee:
I write to request a one year extension of Grow Food Northampton’s CPA grant for creating the
Organic Community Garden in Florence, originally Contract #50 but amended in 2014 under Contract
#124-15. As the Committee is aware, we had intended to spend down the entire balance of our grant
in 2015. In August, we completed design and engineering of, and received a building permit for, a
second storage shed and a pavilion. However, the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural
Resources has not ruled on our application for a Certificate of Approval for these structures, making it
impossible to proceed with construction due to anticipated winter weather.
MDAR is operating under new statutes, new policies, and new legal leadership since we last sought a
Certificate of Approval. In a development that would have been impossible to anticipate, the length of
the lease between the City of Northampton and Grow Food Northampton on the parcel where the
garden is located has raised some tricky questions that will take some time to resolve with MDAR. It
has not helped the situation that MDAR lost our file.
The certificates we sought were not denied; they simply have not been considered in over two
months. We believe that we will receive them over the winter and be able to proceed with
construction in the spring. Consequently, we would be most grateful if the Committee would grant us
an additional extension of our contract through 2016.
Sincerely,
Clem Clay
Executive Director