On Lake Street in Florence, a new “infill” development is proposed. Many of us living in the neighborhood were shocked that there was a proposal on the table for six homes to be built on a 0.45-acre lot near the Bardwell end of the street. While I’m focusing here on a proposed development in my neighborhood, I would suggest that density development in city neighborhoods is of interest to all residents.
For background on infill development, the Sustainable Northampton document is a comprehensive plan for development in the city. Sustainable Northampton designates the in-town sections of Northampton and Florence as being sites where dense, also called infill, development should be concentrated. Sustainable Northampton was created with the input of many individuals and organizations and interestingly uses a yin-yang-influenced graphic to signify the convergence and interplay of economy, equity, and environment as guiding principles for decision-making for planning and development in all areas of the city.
I was interested to read that Sustainable Northampton both anticipates the friction that arises when infill developments are proposed and provides pathways to reduce that friction. Sustainable Northampton contains the following provisions to address neighborhood concerns: provide an option for mediation in site plan reviews to address neighborhood concerns (p 13). Create incentives in the site plan approval process for negotiations between neighbors and developers for projects in residential neighborhoods, especially for projects that only affect immediate neighborhood (p 36). Traditional neighborhoods are currently the most developed areas with planned expansion of developable areas to accommodate expected demand for new growth. These areas can accommodate the vast majority of new smart growth residential development, but only with design standards to ensure that new development does not degrade the quality of existing neighborhoods and mitigate traffic (p 11).
In practice, though, and I can speak to this because this is the second infill development project I have been involved with on Lake Street, it plays out in a more adversarial way. Right out of the gate, it feels like the property owner/developer and the Planning Board vs. the concerned abutters and neighbors. For example, at a September Planning Board meeting where the proposed development was discussed, the Planning Board dismissed resident requests for a traffic study, stating that the project was too small to warrant this, and instead suggested that overflow vehicles from the proposed development could provide “traffic calming” by parking on both sides of the street. Lake Street has heavy daily traffic flow, including trucks, is on a school bus route, and is long, narrow and straight, contributing to speeding issues. When people’s concerns are summarily dismissed or trivialized without due process, it’s understandable that emotions such as anger and frustration arise. Sustainable Northampton, as outlined above, identifies pathways for communication, and communication with residents is just as important as any other part of infill planning.
The use of the yin-yang-influenced graphic on Sustainable Northampton and Planning Board documents suggests an aspiration toward balance and equilibrium, the opposite of turbulence and drama. According to one definition, “Originating in ancient Chinese philosophy, yin-yang is the concept that there exist cosmic principles or forces that are opposite but complementary, which interact, interconnect, support and perpetuate each other. Together they form a dynamic system in which the whole is greater than the interdependent components, and both parts are essential for the cohesion of the whole.” In the dynamic system of city planning, it is expected that residents will have concerns about the impacts of infill development, and it’s reasonable for residents to expect that city government will be receptive to input and that their concerns will be heard, given consideration, and addressed as part of the development approval process.
The next Planning Board meeting with the 12 Lake Street proposed development on the agenda is Thursday, Oct. 8 at 7 p.m. in the City Council Chambers at 212 Main St. in Northampton.
Gretchen D. Werle lives in Florence.