Letter: Change To Site Plan Review Sends Wrong Message To Potential Investors

Amherst’s need for development, versus wise limits that prevent overbuilding, have long been in a contentious balance. The recent victory, by one vote on the Town Council, lowers the support needed to approve a Site Plan Review and shifts the advantage to those aiming to attract controversial projects (e.g. more five-story private dormitories downtown, with narrow sidewalks, and subpar design and longevity, according to an expert member of the planning board).  These lower standards now make it possible (if there were abstentions) that two votes (of seven Planning Board members) could approve of a project that many find unappealing and detrimental to Amherst. Two or three deciders could neutralize our most effective regulatory tool to control the aesthetics and environmental impacts of a developer’s plan. One Amherst Town Council member, in explaining his vote, voiced concern about the message the Town might send to investors, if a Site Plan Review continued to require a 2/3 vote: that Amherst might seem anti- business. 

I agree that some town practices may have hindered business. Many restaurants have complained about the lengthy permitting hurdles, when first opening. Some hopeful entrepreneurs ran out of money, waiting for approval. Efficiencies by the Town seem to have waxed and waned, but improvements there would certainly upgrade our reputation. I think the Council’s decision lowers the likelihood we will achieve the mix of business that would be good for our town. If developers needed to consider more strategically what sort of project helps Amherst become more the place we aim it to be, they would be more likely to achieve a 2/3 vote of the planning board. “If you build it, they will come” works better when you’re building something of quality, that is wanted. 

We are a town with divided views, and Town Council has embodied those divisions. Two or three thumbs up should not be sufficient to approve controversial development, an easy orchestration for our homegrown special interest groups. Amherst deserves and requires a fair process, that respects our diversity of opinions. We cannot succeed if our process is based on a tiny alliance with a bias to yes, approving poorly designed and built buildings. Our community is an assortment of families, students, young professionals, and more. Our needs and goals need to be carefully considered, and our government needs to serve and protect. We are not served by policies that encourage short-term, “grab and go” projects that are unpopular, distort the look and feel of our central business district, and lower the odds that we can have “quiet enjoyment of the premises.”

My premise is that we need to do better. I am concerned that this ineffective standard makes Amherst an easy mark. If projects are approved so haphazardly, we will not interest the investor who is looking for the perfect home for something that would make Amherst proud.

Ira Bryck has lived in Amherst since 1993, ran the Family Business Center for 26 years, hosts the Western Mass Business Show on WHMP, coaches and facilitates business leaders, and is a big fan of Amherst’s downtown.