Residents Decry Proposal To Increase Density Of Downtown Neighborhoods

Council Grants Use Of South Common For Farmers’ Market

Report On The March 8 Meeting Of The Town Council

Highlights:

• Residents decry proposed increased density of downtown neighborhoods
• Farmers’ Market to be on the South Common again this season
• Councilors pass  a resolution calling for building decarbonization in Massachusetts by 2050
• Councilors debate rules of decorum for meetings
• Dates for Anti-Racism Training for Councilors is set

The meeting was held via Zoom and can be viewed here. 

Participating
All Town Councilors 

With the removal of a presentation of the plans to renovate the North Common from the agenda, this was considerably shorter than most Council meetings.

Public Comments on Proposed Zoning Changes Near Downtown

Most of the residents speaking during the public comment period spoke against the proposal to increase density in the general residential zone near downtown by removing Footnote (m) from the dimensional table. Removing Footnote (m) would allow additional units to be built on existing lots with only 2,500 square feet of additional lot area per unit, instead of the 4,000 square feet of additional lot area per unit currently required. (see here)

Alex Kent asked the Council to protect downtown neighborhoods from being overrun by properties owned by absentee landlords who rent to students.

Gina Etheridge stated that she moved to Amherst from Louisiana three years ago after being taken with the Lincoln Avenue area, but is now worried about what that neighborhood would look like if Footnote (m) were to be removed. 

Anne Burton asked what we want the character of the Town to include. If we want individual domiciles, she said, we need to make it possible for them to stay, and not be crowded out by apartment buildings.

Resolution Supporting Electrification of the Commonwealth
As part of the consent agenda, passed without discussion, the Council supported the “Resolution Calling for a Swift, Just Building Decarbonization in the Commonwealth” . This nonbinding resolution calls for replacing 80 percent of fossil fuel use in the state by 2050. Retired Amherst architect Chris Riddle, representing a local group associated with the Rocky Mountain Institute, expressed a hope that towns and cities will be able to create local standards that are more rigorous than the state building code. Brookline did pass a prohibition against connecting new construction to existing gas lines, but it was disallowed by State Attorney General Maura Healy. Riddle was hoping that towns will press the state for more stringent restrictions on fossil fuel use in buildings.

Council Approves Farmers’ Market on the South Common
This year will be the Amherst Farmers’ Market’s fiftieth season. During that time, not a single market has been canceled. Because the pandemic is not expected to be controlled by the planned April 15 opening of the 2021 market, Amherst Farmers’ Market President John Spinetti and Manager Dave Machowski have again requested that the market be allowed to use South Common on Saturday mornings from April through November. It is unlikely that there will be many other events on the Common this summer. 

Machowski did say that, as opposed to last year, when only one-way foot traffic was allowed, it seems there is enough space to allow shoppers to double back without having to exit and reenter and still maintain social distancing. 

Councilor Mandi Jo Hanneke (at large) asked why 36 parking spaces were reserved for 32 vendors. Machowski said the number and size of vehicles varies during the season, depending upon how much produce is being brought to the market. He adjusts the number of parking spaces and tents accordingly, especially as the number of vendors decreases near the end of the season.

Hanneke also wanted to know if the Farmers’ Market plans to continue to use the South Common after the pandemic is under control. Spinetti said that although the Common is nice, it is more work to set up and clean up than the nearby Spring Street parking lot they generally use. Also, last summer was very dry, but in a wet summer the Common can become very muddy, even to the point that a market might need to be canceled.

The Council voted to grant the Farmers’ Market use of the South Common. The vote was 12-1-0 with Sarah Swartz (District 1) voting against.

Rules Governing When Councilors Can Interrupt a Speaker
The bulk of the rest of the meeting was spent debating Rule 6.3 d and e of the Council’s Rules and Procedures. The Governance, Organization and Legislation Committee (GOL) proposed that a speaker may only be interrupted to raise a point of order or a point of privilege, such as when a Councilor cannot see or hear the speaker. As opposed to a previous version, a Councilor cannot interrupt a speaker but can speak without recognition to call the previous question or question the presence of a quorum. Andy Steinberg (at large) said this still doesn’t solve the problem of the first person who speaks calling the previous question, as Evan Ross (District 4) did in relation to a response of the Council to the Community Safety Working Group on February 8 . That precluded all discussion and the right of a Councilor to postpone a vote. Alisa Brewer (at large) criticized the proposed change for not dealing with the right, granted by the Charter, that allows a Councilor to postpone a vote until the next meeting, which she called “undemocratic”, noting that if a majority are ready to vote, a single Councilor should not be able to postpone that vote. The motion was defeated 6-6-1. Darcy DuMont (District 5), Cathy Schoen (District 1), Dorothy Pam (District 3), Steve Schreiber (District 4), Steinberg, and Brewer voted no. Council President Lynn Griesemer (District 2) abstained.

Another proposed change in the rules was to decrease the time each Councilor is permitted to speak to two minutes at a time instead of the current three. Several Councilors objected to this restriction, saying that two minutes might not be adequate to convey complex ideas or data. Shalini Bahl-Milne (District 5) said that  this change would place a hardship on many people  for whom English is not their first language. Schreiber objected to a provision in the proposed rule change that would let  Councilors yield their time to another Councilor, essentially counteracting the decrease in speaking time. This provision was removed in a friendly amendment, which passed 11-2. (DuMont and Schoen voted no.) The motion to decrease the time allowed for a Councilor to speak from three minutes to two failed 6-7. (Bahl-Milne, Brewer, Griesemer, Pam, DuMont, Schoen, and Steinberg  voted no.) GOL will reexamine these rules to see if a more acceptable revision can be found.

Town Manager’s Report
Manager Paul Bockelman said that COVID cases in town are down, but are not as low as we would like. Almost all cases are in the 18 to 24 age group. The Town continues to be frustrated with the limited supply of Covid vaccines. Currently, only second doses are being given at the Bang’s Center. The Fire Department, Senior Center, and Health Department have been delivering vaccines to homebound residents. Many educators are getting vaccinated with the Johnson and Johnson vaccine at CVS.

He also announced plans to appoint a Homeless Advisory Committee to look for a permanent shelter for the unhoused population that would provide more services than just shelter. 

The Business Improvement District received a small grant to hire a consultant to advise on encouraging the recovery of businesses after the pandemic.

Forums on the Pomeroy Village intersection will be held on March 25 from 6 to 7 p.m. and March 27 from 2 to 4 p.m. 

The Civil War tablets will be moved to the Bang’s Center, where they will be displayed in time for Juneteenth.

The Town is building out the Engage Amherst website, using CARES funds https://engageamherst.org/ . This site provides information about current building projects and gives an opportunity for the public to provide feedback.

Brewer expressed dismay that the $80,000 in the budget to be used to combat racism was omitted from this week’s Town Manager report. She said she was not under the impression that all of it was meant to be used by the Community Safety Working Group, and that she hopes other entities can also avail themselves of these funds. Bockelman did not reply to this.

Anti-Racism Training For Councilors
Councilors Bahl-Milne and Pat DeAngelis (District 2) have engaged the services of trainer Annie Rodriguez, from the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond, for a workshop on Undoing Racism to take place the weekend of April 10 and 11, with a follow-up day on May 7. They have vetted Rodriguez and will circulate her resume. Councilors may submit questions ahead of time. Bockelman and Clerk of the Council Athena O’Keeffe will also participate. 

Hanneke stated she is uncomfortable with Bockelman and O’Keeffe being at the workshop because  they are technically employees of the Council. DeAngelis said that the sessions are confidential and that she has participated in similar sessions, where supervisors and all employees attended together, that were very successful. 

The meeting adjourned at 9:40 p.m. The next Council meeting will be on March 22.