Letter: Amherst Residents Need To Speak Up Now On Downtown Development Plans

If you are an Amherst resident and you oppose over-development in downtown Amherst, it is time to speak up! On December 21, the Town Council may vote to adopt a new set of zoning priorities for the town (The latest draft can be read here) that would favor much more development downtown in ways that will change Amherst forever.  The priorities include facilitating infill development in downtown, promoting the construction of multi-story apartment buildings to achieve greater housing density, and the adoption of 40R smart growth zoning and all while relaxing current checks on developers proposing to undertake such work.  

To date, with the exception of 40R, which has seen considerable public opposition at multiple public forums, the Council has invited  little public input on revising these zoning priorities.  Our town government now puts major decisions in the hands of many fewer people than ever before and has shown little interest in hearing from the general public.  

There is little time left for Amherst residents who oppose the dramatic transformation of downtown to say something.  I encourage others who are concerned, as I am, to email the Town Council, the Planning Board, and Planning Department and to share their views in the Gazette, the Bulletin, and here in the Indy. The Council can be reached at this email address: towncouncil@amherstma.gov.

The link to the agenda and zoom access for Dec 21 meeting can be found here: https://www.amherstma.gov/3435/Town-Council

Ira Bryck

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.