AMHERST — Possible use of a state statute that promotes affordable housing, and which allows developers to circumvent certain municipal zoning restrictions, makes some North Amherst residents uncomfortable with a proposed development in the Mill District on Cowls Road.
Representatives from Beacon Communities of Boston, which entered into an agreement with W.D. Cowls Inc. in March to construct mixed-use buildings, have informed residents they may file plans under the state’s Chapter 40B comprehensive permit provisions that provides flexibility in zoning rules, so long as 20 to 25 percent of the housing built is permanently affordable.
About one-quarter of the 140 units, with 213 bedrooms, would be affordable and would be inside both three- and four-story buildings along the road and where the former Cowls sawmill building stands, said Hilda Greenbaum, of 298 Montague Road. Greenbaum said she was shown the plans on Thursday.
“I said this doesn’t look like the North Amherst village,” Greenbaum said. “Four stories is too much for our little village.”
Greenbaum said the height of the buildings would overwhelm the single-family homes in the village center, as well as the various shops and buildings, such as the Amherst Survival Center and the North Amherst Library.
Melissa Perot, of 15 Summer St., who also has seen the plans, said she will consider selling her home and moving from Amherst if the project is allowed to proceed.
She described feeling “horrified” by the Beacon proposal because of the large number of people who might live in the development.
Planning Director Christine Brestrup said no plans have been filed with her office.
Mollye Wolahan Lockwood, vice president of real estate and community development for Cowls, said in an email Friday that Beacon is considering seeking the comprehensive permit to ensure families whose incomes are at or below 80 percent of the median income will be able to live there.
“One of the key attributes that impressed us and made us so excited about working with Beacon Communities is that they strive and are successful in creating developments that are unique and appropriate for each community they join,” Lockwood said.
Lockwood said both Beacon, which would oversee the development of apartments on the upper levels, and Cowls, which would retain control of about 20,000 square feet of commercial and retail space on the ground floors, have communicated with North Amherst residential and business neighbors, town staff and community leaders.
This has included meetings at people’s homes and a gathering at Bread & Butter Cafe, across from the proposed development, attended by Beacon president Dara Kovel and its development director Darcy Jameson.
“This was just the first of many community discussions to come for this next phase of development in the Mill District,” Lockwood said.
Beacon was brought on, in part, because it purchased Rolling Green Apartments for $30.25 million in 2014, preserving the affordability of 41 units where low-income families live, and has demonstrated it will have a long-term commitment to Amherst.
The former sawmill building, constructed in 2003 after fire heavily damaged the previous building, will be demolished to make way for any new buildings. Of the 140 or so units, most will be one- and two-bedroom apartments, with 10 percent featuring three bedrooms, Lockwood said.
Greenbaum said that during community comment sessions several years ago, residents said that large-scale apartment projects should not be allowed north of Meadow Street, and the town should be promoting owner-occupied homes.
Meadow Street and areas closer to the University of Massachusetts campus feature several apartment complexes, including Townehouse, Brandywine, Puffton Village and Presidential.
Olympia Oaks, the 42-unit affordable housing on Olympia Drive off East Pleasant Street, in 2011 was the last project with a comprehensive permit approved by the Zoning Board of Appeals.
So far, the only new housing in the Mill District is the three-story Trolley Barn, with four upscale four-bedroom apartments on the second and third floors, and featuring Bread & Butter and The Lift salon on the ground level.
Greenbaum said any significant development should wait until the town has improved the main intersection. Town officials have proposed to upgrade the signals at North Pleasant, Pine and Meadow streets, and eventually to move the intersection of Montague and Sunderland roads.
“They need to fix up our intersection if we’re going to add all this traffic,” Greenbaum said.
Because more than 10 percent of Amherst’s housing stock is affordable in the Subsidized Housing Inventory, as calculated by the state’s Department of Housing and Economic Development, the Zoning Board is not obligated to approve a project filed under Chapter 40B.
But Brestrup said developers can request support from the Select Board for such a project that meets the community’s continued demands for affordable housing.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
