I was one of several people who attended a Northampton Planning Board meeting on July 25 regarding the development at 8 View Ave. I came away feeling very concerned about the direction the city is taking with respect to the neighborhoods. First, I was disappointed that there was such a lack of a substantive response from the Planning Board to the concerns raised by neighbors. Several people spoke of the loss of trees and open space, the potential for flooding, and the project’s impact on the character of the neighborhood. These are serious concerns. It would have been appropriate for board members to have acknowledged the neighbors’ concerns before voting to approve the project.

Second, I was also concerned that a Planning Board member seemed to spend an inordinate amount of time looking at his cell phone. I was at a June meeting of the Planning Board and the same thing occurred. This strikes me as profoundly disrespectful of the people who were there to speak on behalf of their neighborhood. Also, given the scale of housing development under the city’s “infill” development plan, and the impact that it has had on neighborhoods throughout the city, it seems time to assess how well the infill plan has worked. The assessment should address where it was successful and why, where it didn’t measure up, and what steps are needed to better balance the need for housing and the need for neighborhood integrity and viability.

Michael Kane

Florence