Spring Street Apartments Granted Temporary Certificate Of Occupancy

Report On The Meeting Of The Amherst Planning Board, July 19, 2023

This meeting was held over Zoom and was recorded.

Present
Doug Marshall (Chair), Bruce Coldham, Fred Hartwell, Jesse Mager, Janet McGowan, Johanna Neumann, and Karin Winter

Staff: Chris Brestrup (Planning Director), Nate Malloy (Senior Planner), Pam Field Sadler (Assistant)

There were 17 additional attendees. Most were representing applicants.

This was the first meeting for new members Jesse Mager and Fred Hartwell. Mager is a UMass biology professor who has lived in Amherst for 17 years. Hartwell is an almost 60-year resident who previously served on the Planning Board (from 1996 to 2006). Thom Long and Andrew MacDougall did not seek reappointment.

Temporary Certificate Of Occupancy For Spring Street Apartments
Building Commissioner Rob Morra asked the Planning Board to review the conditions for occupancy of the 58-unit apartment building developed by Archipelago Investments at 26 Spring Street. None of the current Planning Board members were on the board when the project was approved in August of 2018. The pandemic and supply chain issues resulted in delays in construction, but Kyle Wilson of Archipelago said the building will be ready to be occupied on August 1. At issue was the condition that all landscaping and site amenities were to be completed before any certificate of occupancy would be approved. The landscaping is not yet complete, but the company wants to issue leases for August.

Wilson suggested that his company put 150% of the estimated $420,000 needed to complete the landscaping in reserve so the building can be rented while the work is being completed. (Conditions that have been met include use of solarban coating to shade the south-facing windows to prevent overheating of those units and a letter that will be given to prospective tenants detailing town-permit parking options for residents because the building does not have associated parking.)

Planning Board member Johanna Neuman said she didn’t think the board “should belabor this”.  “I don’t have any additional questions and am prepared to move to accept the revised conditions,” she told the rest of the board. “I bike by the site every day, and it’s been wonderful. Every interaction with the builders has been wonderful. The scale of the building is right. It is a wonderful addition to our town. Kudos to Kyle.”

Fellow board member Bruce Coldham agreed that all three conditions were satisfactorily dealt with, and the building could receive a temporary certificate of occupancy. He added, “Kyle lives in town and has kids in the school. He is not going anywhere.” The revised conditions passed unanimously.

The building at 26 Spring Street has furnished studio apartments (330 square feet) and one-bedroom apartments (462 square feet) that will rent for $1,915 to $2,250 per month. Because the building was permitted before the inclusionary zoning amendment went into effect, there are no affordable units. There is one commercial space on the ground floor.

Eversource Plans Enclosure For New Equipment On College Street
A 15-foot enclosure for upgraded switchgear equipment is planned for the Eversource building at 256 College Street. The new enclosure will require moving the fence 65 feet closer to the road.

The site is an unmanned substation, and the company has no plans for the building at the site, the former headquarters of Amherst Media. The new fence will be black clad to minimize its view from the street, and will be screened with juniper trees. Lighting will be replaced with dark-sky compliant manual or motion detector lights, so there will be no lights that stay on all night.

The Planning Board wanted all of the fencing around the site to be black, not just the fence facing College Street. Members were also concerned with debris outside the fence at the rear of the site in an area abutting a stream. When Eversource representatives agreed to the black fence and removing the debris, the Planning Board approved the plans unanimously. However, the project still needs to be approved by the Conservation Commission because of its proximity to the stream and will have to come back to the Planning Board if substantial changes in the design are required. The company hopes to start work this fall.

Autozone Plans Solar Installation
The Autozone store on Northampton Road wants to install rooftop solar panels and low ground mounted panels. The issue came before the Planning Board because the ground-mounted panels would be constructed on the field west of the building. (Rooftop solar is approved by the building commissioner.) The proposed ground panels are 26 inches high and occupy about half the area of the  field. They will be surrounded by a four-foot fence with one gate to the north. The solar panels will produce more electricity than used by the store, but the company sees this as a pilot project that will apply the excess energy to some of its other stores that occupy rental buildings. 

The discussion centered around whether the four-foot fence is high enough for security, and if the array is too close to the building. The fire regulations require 10 feet between the solar panels and the structure, and this plan is just six feet. However, the wall it faces is brick without windows, so it is fire resistant. Board members were also concerned with the plan to lay landscaping fabric at the site to minimize the need for mowing.

Coldham asked if the array could be larger, but that would mean it would exceed lot coverage regulations. The proposal was approved unanimously with the condition that the ground cover would not be allowed to exceed six inches in height. The type of ground cover was not specified.

Topics For The Coming Year
Karin Winter wants the board to clarify the way the town communicates with UMass. Planning Director Chris Brestrup suggested that Town Manager Paul Bockelman, who is the main person to communicate with the university, come to the in-person Planning Board meeting on August 30 to discuss this matter. Chair Doug Marshall said that, as a planner for UMass, he would not participate in the discussion.

After the Planning Board rejected Councilors Mandi Jo Hanneke and Pat DeAngelis’ zoning proposal to create more housing density by loosening regulations, it committed to devoting several extra meetings to discuss approaches to increase housing. August 30 will be the first of those meetings and will be held in the Town Room at Town Hall.

Janet McGowan suggested that the Planning Board examine changes to the East Amherst Village Center, as well as design standards throughout town. She also asked when the report on the feasibility of enlarging the Bangs Center parking garage would be shared, and said she wants the board to review the draft solar bylaw when it is complete.

The meeting adjourned at 9:45 p.m.