Opinion: What Does The Proposed Building Moratorium Mean For Amherst?

The Town will hold a public hearing on May 19 at 8 p.m. with the Planning Board and Community Resources Committee (CRC) to discuss the proposed six-month moratorium on building permits for projects creating three or more dwelling units in the General Business (BG) district, the Limited Business (BL) District, and the General Residence (RG) District. This temporary moratorium was originally introduced by Town Councilors Cathy Schoen (District 1), Dorothy Pam (District 3), and Darcy DuMont (District 5). Now, residents have created and collected signatures on a voters’ petition,  triggering a requirement for a public hearing and subsequent vote by the CRC and Planning Board.

According to Planning Director Christine Brestrup, the moratorium would probably not impact the timeline of any proposed development. Both the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals would continue to hear and approve proposals for new buildings during the moratorium, but the projects would not be issued building permits until after the moratorium expired. There is a provision that the moratorium could be extended for another 90 days in order to allow proposed zoning amendments to be evaluated and voted on. But Brestrup said,  hearings for large projects typically take several months, so actual construction would be likely to begin after the moratorium anyway. 

There has been an outcry from some on the Council and Business Improvement District, as well as some developers who state that the moratorium will harm the economic vitality of Amherst. But what does this temporary moratorium really mean?

However, the proposed moratorium would mean that if a notice for a hearing on any proposed zoning amendment were to be posted before a project is approved, that project would have to abide by the new zoning if it were to be passed. For instance, if the Town passes an inclusionary zoning amendment requiring every new building of 10 or more dwelling units, to make some units  affordable then projects currently being proposed would have to abide by it. This would also apply to the design guidelines for setbacks and open space requirements that are now being discussed by the Planning Department, Planning Board, and CRC.

I fail to see why this temporary moratorium should provoke such angst among supporters of downtown development. The CRC opened the discussion of zoning changes to create more housing in Town . Although some proposals presented by the Planning Department and Planning Board have incorporated elements not in the original CRC document, it seems prudent to agree upon updated zoning and design guidelines before allowing more development near the town center. The Town plans to hire a consultant to advise on design guidelines for the downtown and village centers. Shouldn’t we wait to hear what they suggest?

The large buildings looming over the sidewalks and streets at One East Pleasant and Kendrick Place have been a source of displeasure for many Amherst residents for several years. It makes sense to decide what we want our town center to look like in the future, what kind of streetscape and opportunity for housing and commercial development is appropriate, before approving more large projects. This temporary moratorium seems like a wise step to take while we determine reasonable answers to those questions. And it certainly makes sense to pause before we approve another Archipelago project, such as the one proposed for 11 East Pleasant Street,  while construction on their building on Spring Street remains at a standstill.

Maura Keene is an obstetrician-gynecologist at Baystate Health Systems. Her four children are graduates of the Amherst schools. She has lived in Amherst since 1982.