AMHERST — A citizen petition seeking a one-year pause on rezoning Hampshire College’s 632 acres in Amherst is headed to the Planning Board, though not because the Town Council supports it.
Councilors voted 12-0, with one member absent, to refer the petition from residents affiliated with a group called Hampshire Commoning, as the town charter requires. But they signaled they still intend to have a rezoning plan for the land ready for action in early 2027.
“I do think we should refer to the Planning Board where there’s been active consideration of what possibilities might be, but not tie it up in hearings, which is why I would do the administrative referral,” said District 1 Councilor Cathy Schoen, who made the motion at Monday’s Town Council meeting.
Schoen said there has been a fairly robust process to examine how the land might have uses beyond education, and any rezoning would need to be voted on in public session.
MassDevelopment is funding the study led by Horsley Witten Group, of Providence, Rhode Island, and Dodson & Flinker, of Florence. The next step in the Hampshire College Campus Study is expected to be a public presentation on Dec. 8, following a visioning session and design workshop held at the Eric Carle Museum in September.
Council President Mandi Jo Hanneke said it is the council’s charter duty to refer the petition to the Planning Board, but that she supports the process for a proposed rezoning amendment to come to the council in January.
“I look forward to considering that rezoning proposal when it comes to the council from the consultants,” Hanneke said.
Aaron Evans-Janes of Tuckerman Lane, a Hampshire College graduate, presented the petition to the council. “We felt like things were going a bit fast and we wanted more time to weigh in,” Evans-Janes said.
Hampshire Commoning describes itself as being made up of Hampshire College alumni and current students, University of Massachusetts economics graduate students and some community members. It has three pillars guiding it: landback, described as “returning the land to the people from whom it was stolen”; solidarity economics, in which a new democratic economic system would replace a hierarchical and profit-centered capitalist
economic system; and decolonizing popular education, by opening up the college’s unique offerings to the community.
Evans-Janes added that the group doesn’t want to have any irreversible actions take place that would go against the interest of any party involved in the future of the campus.
Under the rules of the charter, once such a zoning petition has at least 10 certified signatures, the Town Council has 14 days to submit it to the Planning Board for review. Considered a routine ministerial matter, there is no requirement for the council or Planning Board to hold a hearing or act on the matter. That appears to be how this will proceed.
District 4 Councilor Pam Rooney said she wants the town to continue to work with the consultants and for the college to keep doing its own master plan with Elkus Manfredi Architects of Boston, both of which will help frame zoning bylaws.
District 1 Councilor Jill Brevik said she appreciates thoughtfulness of the petitioners, and they deserve to be heard by the Planning Board.
District 4 Councilor Jennifer Taub cautioned that placing a moratorium for a year could mean that the college ends up selling its land before any rezoning is done.
During public comment, three other supporters of the pause addressed the Town Council, suggesting that putting off any rezoning could help with a new vision for the college.
Will Chaney, of Northampton, said current zoning should be frozen until late 2027. While he acknowledged this would appear to tie the town’s and college’s hands, Chaney said it would put off profit-seeking developers with an interest in a “capitalist land grab” and create space for the community to think and work together for a plan that will benefit everyone, and possibly lead to a democratically run college in place of Hampshire.
Zain Salim of Northampton, a Hampshire College graduate, also spoke in favor of the delay.
“Nothing good is going to come out of development of the Hampshire College campus, it’s just going to despoil the natural area on campus, and will create gentrification,” Salim said.
Hampshire College student Sam Bedree of Granby said any property tax gains would be offset by the cost of educating children.
