Planning Board Approves Retaining Wall for Jones Addition and Another Live Entertainment Venue Downtown

Report on the Meeting of the Amherst Planning Board, August 21, 2024

This meeting was held over Zoom and was recorded.

Present
Doug Marshall (Chair), Fred Hartwell, Bruce Coldham, Jesse Mager, and Karin Winter. Absent: Johanna Neumann. Lawrence Kluttz has not yet been sworn in.

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

Retaining Wall Behind Jones Addition Encroaches on Strong House Property
The planned cement retaining wall that will run along the property line between the Jones Library and the neighboring Simeon Strong House actually encroaches on the Strong House property because the substructure supporting the retaining wall extends two feet beyond the property line. Construction of the wall (previously designed to be granite, now concrete) will involve excavation on the Strong House property to place the footings and drainage for the wall. The library will also need a permanent easement to maintain the drainage system for the wall. 

Another complicating factor is the presence of a large ash tree within about 10 feet of the proposed wall. This tree is one of three large trees on the Strong House property. The other two are the spruce tree near the front of the property and the sycamore tree close to the building itself. The Amherst Historical Society, which owns the Strong House, has worked closely with the Jones Library architects and trustees to ensure that the trees will be protected. The Jones Library Trustees have agreed that the general contractor for the demolition/expansion project will be required to hire a certified arborist to oversee protection of the trees and to post a $50,000 surety bond for at least three years after the completion of the project to compensate for possible damage to the trees. 

Capital Projects Manager Bob Peirent, who is serving as the owner’s project manager (OPM) for the library project, described the care that will be given to protect the ash tree, whose drip line is impacted by the wall construction. He said the tree will be protected by a chain link fence installed around the tree, and the excavation will be made with carefully described procedures, such as air lancing and hand digging, with some roots being carefully cut  and some being  re-laid.

Planning Board member Bruce Coldham was one of several board members who made a site visit to the library. He pointed out how close the proposed wall was to the trunk of the ash tree and wondered why no evaluation of risks to the tree had been conducted yet. Nevertheless, he said that he has not seen adverse consequences to trees when the protection method described by Peirent was taken.

Gigi Barnhill, president of the Amherst Historical Society (AHS), said that the arborist she spoke to agreed with the procedure described by Peirent. She said she is glad the tree will be protected. Newly appointed executive director of the AHS, Liz Larson, thanked the designers and trustees of the Jones for their cooperation in protecting the society’s trees. 

The Planning Board approved the site plan review for the retaining wall by a vote of 5-0. The motion stated, “The Board understands that Amherst Historical Society supports the encroachment of the footing onto its property and the provisions that will be made to safeguard the tree.” There was no mention of the surety bond required of the general contractor in the specified conditions. Planning Director Chris Brestrup said that the precise stipulations will be spelled out in the agreement between the Amherst Historical Society and the library, which is still being crafted.

Live Entertainment Coming to the Uptown Tap and Grille
Paul Tupa, owner of the Uptown Tap and Grille at 104 North Pleasant Street, requested approval to offer live entertainment, such as music and trivia at the restaurant. Tupa said this combination of restaurant and live entertainment has worked well at his restaurant in Plymouth, and he wants to bring more “life” to downtown Amherst.

The restaurant was permitted earlier this year by the streamlined administrative approval by the building commissioner (Zoning Bylaw Article 14), since it involved no change to the use and only minor changes to the building from Amherst Burger, which previously occupied the site. Live entertainment is considered an accessory use to its principle use as a restaurant. The restaurant is open until 12 a.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and 10 p.m. on Sundays. It is closed on Mondays. Food is served until two hours prior to closing. 

Sandy Muspratt, who lives on North Prospect Street behind the restaurant, wanted reassurance that sound from the entertainment would be limited to inside the restaurant, especially on weekday evenings. Coldham pointed out that the level of sound outside the building is limited to 70 decibels by the town’s noise bylaw, a level that would not be audible in the residential neighborhoods near downtown. Given that the walls of the restaurant are masonry, he doubted that the neighboring establishments would be bothered by the sound either. 

The permit for live entertainment was granted by a 5-0 vote.

Amherst College Plans Geothermal Heating of Campus Buildings
As part of its plan to end the use of fossil fuels on campus, Amherst College plans to drill geothermal wells under the large parking lot off College Street on the east side of the campus. The geothermal wells will eventually be connected to all campus buildings to provide low temperature (135 degree) hot water heat by 2030. Supplemental heat will be provided by heat pumps. 

Daren Gray and Chris Tait described the project, which does not require approval by the Planning Board because it is in an educational district. The bores will be dug in the spring and fall of 2025, closing half of the parking lot at a time. The system is planned to be operational and the parking lot repaved by the winter of 2026. In addition to the geothermal wells, a small addition will be added to the rear of the Central Energy Plant for the equipment needed to operate the system.

The project received approval from the Conservation Commission in July and will go before the Board of Health in the fall. Because the parking lot is near the Fearing Brook, the existing drainage pipe and detention ponds will be enlarged to minimize the flow into the brook from the pavement. Each geothermal well is a closed loop, so there is no chance of contamination of the brook from the bores.

Gray said this type of system was pioneered at Carleton College about 10 years ago. Smith College has already broken ground on geothermal heating (https://smithgeoenergy.info/), and Mount Holyoke, and UMass are developing similar heating plans. There are no solar panels planned for Amherst College, so energy for the heat pumps will come from a solar array in Maine shared by several small colleges or it will be purchased from a commercial source of renewable energy. 

Historical Preservation Plan Appended to Master Plan
Planner Nate Malloy presented the recently developed Historic Preservation Plan to the Planning Board for incorporation into the town’s Master Plan. The 122-page plan was developed by Shannon Walsh of the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission and has been accepted by the Historical Commission. The comprehensive preservation plan notes some of the following challenges to preservation in Amherst:

• outdated or no documentation and underrepresented historical narratives 

• minimal guidelines and parameters for historic and architectural reviews 

• no real protections for iconic downtown buildings and loss of historic landscapes 

• demolition by neglect is a major issue especially for non-owner-occupied buildings 

• need to balance climate and development goals with preservation goals 

• unclear if funding preservation of privately owned properties is a community goal

 • raising the community consciousness to become engaged in historic preservation 

• preservation and rehabilitation is not viewed as resilient and sustainable design

The plan concludes with an implementation plan for documentation of historic resources, education and outreach, protection, and resiliency for planning and emergency response. 

The Master Plan was first passed in 2010 and reaffirmed by the Town Council in 2020. The Planning Department has been recommending that other plans developed by the town supplement the original document. The Transportation Plan was added in 2015. A Housing Production Plan and Open Space and Recreation Plan are currently being developed. The Planning Board voted unanimously to accept the Historic Preservation Plan in the Master Plan.

Programs on Downtown Design Standards Coming in September

Malloy reported that Dodson and Flinker Associates, the firm hired to develop downtown design standards, will be holding public events in mid-September to gather input from residents. The tentative dates are September 13 and 14, and will probably include a walking tour of downtown and presentations and charrettes at the high school. More detailed information will be available soon. The development of the standards is expected to take a year. 

The Planning Board next meets on September 4, when it expects to take up a proposal by the Shutesbury Road solar project to freeze the zoning before the passage of new regulations in the Solar Bylaw that the town is now developing.