AMHERST — A group of citizens are proposing a pair of zoning amendments designed to maintain traditional neighborhoods and to protect downtown as places for year-round residents.
One of the citizen zoning amendments calls for a yearlong moratorium on the town accepting building applications for residential developments with four or more dwelling units in downtown Amherst. A second amendment would create a definition for student homes that allows town officials to prioritize housing for year-round residents.
The two amendments, one known as Article 18: Protecting Downtown and the other as Article 19: Protecting Neighborhoods, were recently filed under state law by 10 residents, meaning they will need to be referred to the Planning Board within 14 days. That panel would then hold a hearing on the proposals, within 65 days, to make recommendations to the Town Council.
The aim of the amendments, according to those involved, is to support balanced and livable neighborhoods and the downtown area, coming at a time when those involved contend that the town’s year-round population is around 13,000, and the partial-year population living off campus is about 9,000. Amherst’s overall population is around 40,000, based on the 2020 census.
Advocates for the proposals include Hetty Startup of North Pleasant Street, who praises UMass for the cultural and educational opportunities it provides, yet still has concerns with the impact of student rentals.
“Living in a college town, though, should not mean giving away our family neighborhoods,” Startup said. “We are absolutely not anti-student. We are pro-year-round residents.”
“Maintaining traditional neighborhoods as a place for year-round residents who work here seems like a sensible thing to do,” said Ken Rosenthal, of Sunset Avenue.
The temporary pause on new multi-unit housing structures downtown would prohibit the town from accepting any building permits in the general business and limited business zoning districts for one year, or until the work on downtown design standards by Dodson & Flinker Landscape Architecture & Planning of Northampton is complete, and a Housing Production Plan prepared by the Barrett Planning Group, LLC of Hingham, is finalized.
In progress for more than a year, the downtown design standards would set requirements for streetscapes and sidewalk widths, as well as green spaces and climate resilience criteria for new multi-unit developments, with building heights and setbacks required in the zoning bylaw dimensional table.
For the Housing Production Plan, advocates would like to see it prioritize opportunities for year-round, mixed-income residents, instead of simply having additional housing intended for students in the downtown or in nearby neighborhoods.
The pause would also give time for the town to reach an agreement with the University of Massachusetts administration that UMass provide housing for 5,000 additional students on campus: “If the downtown is to be used and enjoyed by year-round residents, the town needs time to come to an agreement with UMass officials that it will house at least 5,000 additional students on campus, rather than flooding downtown and our neighborhoods,” the petition states.
The second proposal focuses on neighborhoods and aims to “preserve and support single- and two-family housing owned or rented by year-round residents, prioritize locating student housing on our Amherst campuses, and disincentivize the sale of single- and two-family homes to LLC real estate investors.”
It defines “student home” and also recommends strategies for dealing with these, including setting a minimum distance requirement of 700 to 2,000 feet between student homes, depending on the density of the zoning district. This measure also asks the town to consider some form of rent stabilization, and further limiting student rentals in some areas to so-called principal arterial streets.
“Year-round residents have an interest in maintaining our extremely diverse family neighborhoods,” the petition states. “We have a personal investment in the future of our neighborhood schools and communities.”
The petitioners are making a call for UMass to do more, as well, though Chancellor Javier Reyes has responded to advocates that UMass already understands housing is a critical issue in town, the region and state.
“It’s why the campus partnered with a private developer to open the Fieldstone project, which added critical housing on state land for both undergraduate and graduate students,” Reyes wrote. “It’s also why the university and the University of Massachusetts Building Authority released a request for proposals this year for a comprehensive, long-range plan to modernize campus housing.”
Still, Debra Utting of Gray Street said further action is needed.
“UMass can do more to mitigate the effects of an ever-increasing student population on our streets and neighborhoods,” Utting said. “While we love our colleges, the university and their students, the town and its residents will not be served well if overwhelmed year-round residents leave, as they watch their neighborhoods turn over to more and more housing for students.”
In July 2021, Town Council rejected a 180-day moratorium on building projects with three or more units, in and near downtown, after receiving a petition signed by around 900 residents.