Petition Asks Council To Stop Wasting Time On Widely Criticized Zoning Proposal

Week after week, month after month, a lengthy proposal from Councilors Mandi Jo Hanneke (at large) and Pat DeAngelis (District 2) to streamline permitting for investors and others to make it easier to build townhouses, triplexes, or duplexes, or convert houses into multiple residences has been a main focus of concern for the Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals, and the Community Resources Committee (CRC) of the Town Council. These types of housing are already allowed in parts of Amherst, such as the dense neighborhoods near UMass and downtown Amherst, where there are dozens of duplexes, triplexes, town houses, converted houses, and accessory dwelling units (ADUs). There, “easier” means faster, with less oversight and no neighborhood input. In other parts of Amherst, although noticeably not the aquifer recharge district that overlaps with parts of Amherst Woods and Amherst Hills, “easier” means allowing multi-unit structures with the same slim oversight and public discussion.

The proposal is based on the theory that if more is left up to the marketplace, the town will gain more affordable housing, rather than market rate housing. And one of the ways that the proposal would streamline the permitting process is to limit public information about projects. When asked why she thinks this will work, Hanneke has said that she doesn’t know, but doing something is better than doing nothing, and after all, it might work out well.

As it happens, Hanneke and DeAngelis make up two fifths of the CRC, and Hanneke is the chairperson. Also on the committee are Shalini Bahl-Milne from District 5 (South Amherst), and Jennifer Taub and Pam Rooney, from districts near downtown and UMass. Under the town’s current regulations, they have been seeing significant incremental construction of new duplexes, triplexes, townhouses, and other multi-unit residences. Almost 800 new residential units have been constructed in recent years under those regulations.

The proposal has been widely criticized including by town councilors, the Planning Board, the Planning Department, the Zoning Board of Appeals, and housing advocates, for being unlikely to produce its stated desired results and for likely resulting in several unintended and undesirable consequences. The Planning Board is scheduled to have another discussion of the proposal, its eighth, at its meeting next week. Now, more than 265 Amherst residents have signed a petition asking the council and Planning Board to reject the market-based proposal and shift the focus to zoning that will reliably produce affordable housing for diverse populations, including families and people who are struggling.

Their request states:

“The undersigned residents request that you, as an elected member of the Town Council or an appointed member of the Planning Board, reject the current slate of zoning bylaw revisions that seek to relax/weaken permitting processes, and eliminate abutter notifications, for duplexes, triplexes, town houses, and converted dwellings.

“We believe that Amherst residents want the town to be vibrant, welcoming, and diverse, that housing for residents of diverse ages, incomes, lifestyles, and educational levels is critical, and that zoning revisions need to be sensitive, logical, and fully understood in order to minimize negative unintended consequences.; Hundreds of staff and volunteer hours have already been consumed trying to decipher, analyze, and repair, piecemeal, this package of proposed revisions. However, this proposal is riddled with problems, and members of the Council and Planning Board, as well as members of the Planning Department and Zoning Board of Appeals have repeatedly cautioned that it is unlikely to accomplish its stated goals of affordable housing for diverse residents and that unintended consequences must be studied in depth and considered seriously.

“Additional time should not be spent trying to decipher, analyze, and fix this proposal. Please reject it in its entirety now.”

A copy of the petition can be found here.  Links to recent articles about the proposal can be found here.

Comments From Petition Signers.
The personal comments accompanying residents’ signatures on the petition focus on affordable housing for diverse populations in Amherst. Here is a sampling of the comments sent to the Town Council and Planning Board:

“The proposed zoning changes won’t accomplish the admirable goal of creating more affordable housing for people who aren’t students.”

“Yes to more affordable housing! It does not appear this plan will get us there.”

“Let’s not allow further ugly construction and loss of our town’s identity”

“Amherst has pothole-riddled roads; the umpteenth school superintendent leaving; a public health director leaving. I do not wish for our tireless Town Council reps, Pamela Rooney and [Anika] Lopes, or our hard working Planning Board Director and her staff with years of experience, to spend one more minute on this mess of a by-law revision.”

“I support infill and denser housing in town. But this must be planned. The marketplace will lead to developers maximizing profits; that is what they do. But developers can still make money while abiding by restrictions to keep the town affordable and attractive.”

“maybe the town council could put their heads together, plus public input, instead of dealing with the overly ambitious actions of a single councilperson”

“These zoning changes give developers too much power to do as they wish. We need more affordable housing to keep a diverse population in town. What about more housing for seniors? Unlike Barry Roberts, out-of-town developers have a cookie cutter approach as evidenced in the newer buildings in town (which are ugly and monolithic).”

“In a town where landlords renting to students do not always observe building codes and health regulations and where the student market keeps prices perpetually overheated, the town government needs to maintain careful oversight over permitting.”

“I am not an Amherst resident against all change. Two brief points to make: Play the long game. Don’t allow the kinds of development that ignore/destroy what is special about our New England town. Issues of scale, aesthetics and space are why people move to Amherst. It’s a driving force for people leaving cities and crowded suburbs. We can adhere to the 3 issues and still have more affordable housing. My second point is infrastructure. I moved here from a working class town that mutated into a gentrified over- built monstrosity with condos costing millions of dollars. Along with that came flooding and brown-outs. Parking was a nightmare. Neighborhoods were destroyed. You may think, it can’t happen here. It can.”

“The weakening of our zoning law protections has resulted in high-rises that many of the community feel have destroyed much of the appeal of our downtown. “Deregulation has resulted in neighborhoods being overrun with rental properties that have changed the character of neighborhoods, causing some long-time Amherst residents to simply sell their house and leave town. This is not the time to promote deregulation in our community. Things are moving too quickly in too many different directions with too many huge projects. A more conservative approach to zoning  (that is, maintaining tough zoning that does not cater to business interests over the public interest) is what the community needs and deserves. Please vote no on the zoning changes to preserve the character of our town….”

“The Town of Amherst is an attractive location for profitable development. In other towns and cities demands are made of developers for the privilege of being permitted to develop profitable properties. Here we have consistently given in to developer demands for housing that does not benefit resident taxpayers!”

“I am vehemently opposed to the slackening of current zoning. This is a misguided effort; unfortunately our councilors have not listened to concerned neighbors’ feedback although they have heard them.”

“Regulating how much housing (rental and ownership) is reserved for families and children instead of investment firms is the way to make our town more affordable and welcoming, rather than the current proposal to line the pockets of real estate investors.”

“Please focus instead on affordable housing (as well as encouraging efforts to work towards zero energy in housing — although I know that is a diversion from the topic at hand). It’s worth the time to make sure that we don’t make decisions that impede less wealthy people from house-ownership in Amherst.”

“How much time could have been saved if the proposers had consulted with the planning professionals in town before they brought forward their proposal? And given the almost universal condemnation of the proposal, why do town committees persist in their discussions of it. Hundreds of valuable work hours wasted!”

“Relying on the ‘market’ to provide affordable housing is not a strategy for increasing Amherst’s stock of affordable housing. What developers have already done to Amherst’s downtown is bad enough.”

“Affordable housing is a serious need, but one that has to be addressed properly.”

“Our goal (and plan) needs to be affordable housing, not just housing.”

“For Amherst, going forward, The subject proposals do not align with the best ‘quality of life’ criteria. Save Amherst for families!”

“While I support the idea of owner-occupied and affordable units having less restrictions, my concern is that blanket allowances would leave us with many more $1,000+/bed units throughout town, with no effort to increase affordability.”

“Housing affordability is a big issue in Amherst but no one I’ve spoken with thinks this proposal creates anything useful in that regard. I’d prefer to see the Council spend time on solutions that are creative and local. I also prefer options that provide oversight and accountability for out of town developers rather than give them free rein over the town’s residents.”

“Good morning committee members – Please reject the proposal that would weaken zoning and building requirements for development… Please be vigilant about the quality of life for permanent residents of downtown Amherst and contain the lure of developers’ wishes.”

“Amherst, as are most city/towns in MA, desperately needs more affordable housing. Lack of oversight is not the answer.”

“Too many issues are brought before the Council by only one, maybe two Councilors that get too much attention, thus wasting time on the major issues which face the Town. Many of these issues are not even on the radar of the various Town Departments as there are other pressing issues they are trying to address and which may require Town financial resources. The Town has professional staff who are responsible for informing the Council of issues that need to be addressed and then work on solutions. Time to review how well the Council works and what needs to be done to improve it.”

“We need more input from diverse perspectives, including planning staff, for a better bylaw. Not just two Council members from the pro-development Amherst Forward PAC pushing through an unpopular proposal.; i do not want to see the zoning bylaw revisions make it easier for greedy real estate developers to swoop into our town, make a killing, and then move on!”

“I am in favor of owner occupied duplexes but only if there is a deed restriction in place that the owner must live in the residence and this is an ongoing restriction. The planning dept. should create the proposals and the suggestions should follow the normal path of zoning changes. This is taking up way too much time for the Planning Dept., the Planning board, the Town Council, etc. The proposed changes do not address the problem of moderate priced housing options in Amherst. Instead, they will increase student rentals in family neighborhoods. I agree with all of the above petition.”

“Affordable housing (and sound economic development) are necessary to a vibrant community, but should not be accomplished by measures that harm the environment and diminish the well being and quality of life of the Town’s residents. Allowing hundreds of apartments in oversized buildings to be constructed without parking in the heart of our downtown was a shameful breach of the trust we place in our elected and appointed officials. Revising zoning bylaws to jam more residences into existing neighborhoods without a full understanding of the short and long term consequences would be another such breach. Rather than acting at the persistent behest of real estate developers, please act in the best interests of the Town and in accordance with your duties to the people who elected you, and reject the proposed zoning bylaw revisions.”

“Leaving it to market forces is not what Amherst needs!”

“Growth can be cancerous if not carefully controlled. Bigger is not always better.”

“I think Amherst needs more affordable housing for families and folks at the lower end of the economic scale. I also think UMass should provide supervised housing for their students on campus and not assume the town of Amherst will do that service.”

“Please consider the impact of your actions on the nature of the town.”

“Figure out a way to slow down the scooping up of homes, particularly starter homes so that families have a chance to purchase a home. Between the prices and high taxes, we are forcing ordinary folks and seniors out of town.”

“Besides the specific reasons that have been repeatedly stated, to be guided by a seemingly noble, but grandiose belief, to focus more on solving the world’s problems over understanding the nature and needs of your own town, is a misguided ineffective strategy for Town governance, that sometimes afflicts Amherst. We cannot act locally if we are out of touch with our local strengths and limitations.”

“Oversight by residents and zoning laws are useful and important. The town needs to be in charge so that new housing is affordable. I also want it to look to the future, to transition to buildings requiring much less energy for heating and cooling than the older houses. I highly doubt developers would make affordability and sustainability a priority unless the town required it.”

“Affordable housing should be the priority.”

“Please recognize that there needs to be a major effort to create housing that is more than just market rate student housing, and that this will require more than zoning changes. The proposal as stands will not achieve the stated goals. Housing shortage is a nationwide and statewide problem, but on top of that, Amherst has >15,000 students looking for housing that makes us unlike any other town in the state when it comes to a housing shortage.”

“Construction of first home sized and affordable houses should be a priority. Promote more dorms on campus, not de facto dorms in town; Isn’t the goal to ensure that single family homes are available and affordable for families and/or working folks in Amherst? This change just makes it easier to take those homes off the market by turning them into mini-dormitories for students. Let’s secure affordable housing as a town priority. Real reform is needed to solve our housing crisis. More homes for low-income families are needed, not more student housing. Please put the brakes on this decision and listen deeply to the input from townspeople. Please reject this proposal in its entirety. 

“We need affordable housing for families to keep Amherst vibrant and thriving. However this proposal does not accomplish this. We need a better plan that prioritizes our community, not just students. No Thank you. Less market housing, more affordable housing!” 

“I am unpersuaded by the proposed package of zoning proposals. These approaches are not supported by data, and are not tailored to increasing affordable housing. We need to go back to the drawing board, and review environmental scans of what actually happens with similar regulations, and what policies actually get us the mix of housing we want and need.”

“As a country we have seen that deregulation has backfired grandly. If this is supposed to be an experimental change, how long will the experiment be?”

“This looks like developers trying to make a change for their profit, not for the good of low income people or the town.Please reject the proposed zoning changes.”

“This proposal is ill-conceived, counter-productive, unnecessary and foolish. It should be rejected outright.”

“I totally concur with this petition. An area friend who had not been in Amherst since the pandemic remarked with curiosity and concern, ‘How did those ugly buildings get approved in Amherst?'”

Signatories
Residents asking the Council and Planning Board to reject the zoning proposal include Abeles, linda; Acker, Christine; Acker, Alton; Ackermann, Inge; Addes, Ira; Addes, Bina; Aizen, Rachel; Aries, Elizabeth; Audley, Barbara; Auer, Andreas; Axelson-Berry, Kitty; Babb, Nancy; Bachrach, Eric; Bair, Nancy; Ballantine, Jeanne; Barbaro, Susan; Barber, Loise; Baskin, Tobias; Beebe, Penny; Bemak, Adrienne; Berg, Arthur; Berins, Michael; Berins, Tina; Berkman, Joyce; Berman, Aaron; Bernstein, Herbert; Birtwistle, Michaeal; Birtwistle, Carol; Bloom, Steven; Bodhi, Charles; Borden, Susan; Borden, Julia; Borden, Samuel; Brown, Claudia; Bryck, Ira; Bryck, Lenore; Burkart, Barbara; Burkart, Michael; Burke, Rita; Burke, Sean; Burns, Alyx; Burton, Anne; Callahan, Felicity; Callahan, James; Cano-Martin, Amber; Carroll, Kathleen; Cathelinead, Floris; Chernock, David; Chevan, Janet; Choi, Charlene; Ciccarelli, Rosemary; Clark, Allegra; Colligan, Louise; Conover, Louis; Crabtree Zoë; Curzon, Rebecca; Dabrowski, Thaddeus; Davis, Elena; Davis, Robert; Di Stefano, Paola; Dickinson, Leonard; Dickinson, Ellen; DiMattio, Nancy ; Duffy, Anne; Dujovne, Irene; DuMont, Darcy; Dunn, Kathryn; Dye, Maria; Eastman, Robert M; Eddy, Sara; Eigner, Irene; Ericksn, Neal; Fischer, Sarah; Fontes, Lisa; Ford, Barbara; Forman, Marion; Fradkin, Ava; Franklin, Judy; Freedman, Carol; Gagnon, Dennis; Gagnon, Donna; George, Kathleen; George, Stephen; Gilbert, Michael; Gilbert, Nancy; Gilmore, Ralph; Gladstone, Samuel; Gladstone-Gilbert, Adele; Gosselin, Philip; Gouverneur, Elizabeth; Gray, Carol; Greenebaum, Michael; Greeney, Robert; Gronau, Jane; Grosslein, Louise; Hamilton, Emilie; Hawkowl, Davis; Healy, Lorena; Hirsch, Jacob; Hirsch, Amy; Hondrogen, John; Hooper, Thomas; Hosp, Michelle; Hunt, Priscilla; Hunter, Laura ; Hunter, Patrick; Hynes, Bridget; Hynes, Julian; Jackson, Robert; Johnson, James; Jones, Pamela; Karlstrom, Rolf; Kassis, Robin; Kaynor, Van; Keene, Maura; Keene, Arthur; Keins, Andrea; Kelley, Eileen; Keyes, Karla; Kick, John; Kline, Christine; Kopicki, Maria; Kraft, Stephanie; Krasnik, Michael; Krasnik, Emily; Kravitz, Lilian; Kristal, Jane; Kudatsky, Dinah; Kurtz, Steven; Kurtz, Edith; Lambdin, John; Lee, Jeff; Lewandowski, Susan; Long, Sheryl; Lorenzelli, Marianne; Mager, Jesse; Manning, Winnifred; Margalit, Pearl-Anne; Margalit, Nathan; Margolin, Deborah (Isabel); Markland, David; Mathews, Betsy; Mathews, Philip; Matthews-Nilsen, Peggy; McCarthy, Mary; McCarthy, Kaeli; McGinn, Susan; McKee, Sarah; McKenna, Jenifer; Meadows, Craig; Meagher, J. Patrick; Mednick, Felicia; Michaels, John; Mix Barrington, David; Mix Barrington, Jessica; Moran, Charlene; Morgan, Michael; Morse, Joanna; Murch, Laurence; Muspratt, Suzannah; Muspratt, Sandy (James A.); Myers, Jack; Nagurney, Ladimer; Nair, Premila; Nilsen, Sigurd; O’Meara, Joan; Okun, Rob; Oldham, James; Ononibaku, Pat; Ononibaku, Charles; Ortiz, Alberto; Ortiz, Floris W. Osborn, Karen; Osborne, Jeff; Osborne, Paula; Patton-Lopez, Megan; Pearl, Jayne; Perry, Jocelin; Perry, Ronald; Perry, Susan G; Peterson, Dale; Petitt, Donna; Platt, Christina; Poirrier, Janet; Poirrier, Jamet; Posner, Nancy; Powell, Alan; Quilter, Laura; Quinn, Robert; Rabin, Monroe; Ratner, Nancy; Ratner, David; Reda, Evelyn; Reed, Rebecca; Reif, Linda; Resnick, Noryn; Rooney, Terry; Root, John; Rosenthal, Kenneth; Roth, Delona; Rothschild, Nancy; Rubinstein, Elissa; Rubinstein, Bernard; Saltz, Barbara; Sayer, Mary; Scarff, Anne Scarff; Schlessinger, Burd; Schreier, Beth; Sclove, Richard; Sclove, Marcie; Scofield, Bruce; Scott, Leslie; Seidler, Tristram; Sheldon, Susan; Sherman, Susan; Siftar, Beth; Simms, Nicholas; Skillings, Anne; Slocombe, Joan; Sloviter, David; Smith, Marilyn; Smith, Colborn; Snedecor, Peter; Stanek, Ed; Startup, Hetty; Stauch-White, Kristie; Stein, Diana; Steinberg, James; Sternheim, Helen; Tartakov, Gary; Terrizzi, Adrienne; Theilman, Marylou; Thomson, Arleen; Tinto, Pam; Tremblay, Kimberly; Turner, Merrylees (Molly); Turner, James; Utting, Debra; Varner, John; Vernon-Jones, Russ; Vierling, Elizabeth; Vigderman, Robert; von Schlegell, Rosemary; Wadsworth, Patricia; Wallack, Dan; Warren, Glenn; Wehle, Amy M; Weiss, Gerald; West, Emily; White, Priscilla; Wilcox, Bruce; Wilcox, Greta; Wilder, Paige; Wiley, Dyan; Wilson, Nancy; Wise, Kurt; Yakub, Alexander; Yourga, Richard; Yourga, Joyce; and Yu, Qian.