AMHERST — A possible extension of a local historic district in downtown Amherst, or cthe reation of a new one, should wait until new binding architectural design guidelines for downtown are implemented, according to the Local Historic District Commission.
While the commission has been considering since last fall the idea if putting the 20 to 22 properties between 196 and 336 North Pleasant St., from the rectory at St. Brigid’s Church north to where North Pleasant and Triangle streets meet, into a local historic district, members recently voted to hold off for a year as the town’s Planning Department works with a consultant on design criteria, and also explores a possible zoning amendment that would allow for specific redevelopment on that stretch.
Local historic districts provide various protections to the properties and requirements that property owners get permission when making both major and minor changes to their homes, churches and businesses.
The commission’s unanimous decision at its May 24 meeting came after J. Curtis Shumway, who owns most of the properties on the stretch in question, told members that he took to heart criticism that some in town find it “alarming” that he controls all of the properties on the west side of North Pleasant Street between Hallock Street and Cowles Lane.
Shumway said imposing a local historic district to save one building or limit what he could do would be an anti-developer initiative that would likely stop any new development.
“If you’re going to take the town zoning and make it even more stringent, you may eventually create a scenario where nothing happens,” Shumway said.
Last fall, commission member Steve Bloom pitched the idea of the district. Bloom said Amherst doesn’t currently have ways to prevent demolition by neglect.
Any future rezoning, Bloom said, should only come if design guidelines are in place. “I don’t think there should be any rezoning until there are binding guidelines,” Bloom said.
Design guidelines, on the other hand, wouldn’t save the existing properties, a mix of one- and two-story buildings, some of them former homes, that have been put to commercial use. “If we don’t have a local historic district, those buildings will eventually come down,” Bloom said.
Shumway said while no plans are imminent, some four-story buildings would make sense, with some apartments on the upper floors. They would likely have peaked roofs with varying rooflines. “My goal is to do something kind of super awesome for the town working with everybody, and have it be really special,” Shumway said.
“This is big stuff, this is not one little small site,” Shumway said of the area in question. “There’s a big piece of dirt, you can do a lot there, which is really exciting if you go into it with that approach. Density is very important to support a project of this nature.”
Shumway said he doesn’t want to pay significant money to rehabilitate buildings that are beyond saving.
“The town has to create zoning to allow something that could happen there,” Shumway said.
Even though there is opportunity for infill, there is no current way to add any apartments to the location. As an example of buildings that have to stay put, he cites the one-story building that houses Bruegger’s at the corner of North Pleasant and Cowles and the 236 North Pleasant St. that previously housed the Men’s Resource Center and River Valley Crafts, which he had hoped to take down for an office building until a yearlong demolition delay scuttled those plans.
“I don’t want to hodgepodge this,” Shumway said.
Bloom said something akin to the Village Commons in South Hadley would be contextual for Amherst, and Shumway said he, too, could envision something like that. “If I had to point to one project that would represent what I’m trying to accomplish there, that’s a really good example,” Shumway said.
Commission member Bruce Coldham said a delay makes sense. “This is an unusual situation, and this is an unusual opportunity,” Coldham said.
Reenvisioning the area until design guidelines and a rezoning comes forward is appropriate, said commission member Karin Winter.
“If we have a really good plan, a destination thing, a signature thing, something that’s going to revitalize the town, and we like the plan, that’s the time to change the zoning so it can be done,” Winter said.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
