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North Adams To Adopt Smart Growth Zoning Plan

A brutalist brick building sits under a blue sky.
Josh Landes
/
WAMC
North Adams City Hall

The North Adams, Massachusetts city council has approved a new Smart Growth zoning ordinance.

The new zoning strategy would allow for high-density residential and mixed use development in North Adams’ downtown district and Mill District, putting the city in line for a $600,000 incentive from Massachusetts if adopted.

Mayor Tom Bernard spoke on behalf of the proposed changes Tuesday, which were first raised in February 2020.

“I truly believe this is a beneficial, important and necessary community development, economic development, housing development project for the city," said the mayor. "It does reflect the priorities identified in our vision 2030 plan as far as housing and neighborhood development. It addresses a demonstrated need for housing development in the city, as demonstrated by a 2020 housing needs assessment conducted by Berkshire Regional Planning, which recommended stimulating new housing production that is affordable at various income levels. And it reflects our commitment to inclusion, diversity, equity and access by stimulating the development of mixed income neighborhoods. This has been carefully vetted not just at the local level, but by the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development.”

Zachary Feury of the North Adams Office of Community Development answered questions about the plan.

“If Smart Growth developments were to be built, I think it's safe to say that members of the community, and people wishing to move to North Adams and live in a quality affordable housing unit, would benefit because that opportunity would be there," he said. "Right now, we do have, according to our housing needs assessment that the mayor referenced earlier, we have an 808 total unit housing deficit, meaning we have a shortage of housing units across all across several income ranges.”

Smart Growth zoning requires that at least 20% of housing units developed in the district be affordable.

“Anything that is at 80% of area median income, meaning that roughly $80,000 line, and that's for a family of four, would qualify as an affordable housing unit," said Feury. "And so based on the research that Berkshire Regional Planning Commission did for us, this pretty much covers most professions at the entry level in North Adams, except for those like doctors, lawyers and firefighters. So workforce housing really is an apt term for the type of housing that smart growth zoning intends to promote.”

Councilor Marie Harpin was the sole no vote against the plan, echoing concerns raised by some members of the public at the meeting before the 7-1 approval.

“I did hear people come and say that they're just, they weren't aware, they got a letter two weeks ago and they're trying to scramble to figure out what it's all about, right?" said Harpin. "Some things said that they felt as though it's being rushed to be put in and it has not been pushed out to the public enough.”

Councilor Benjamin Lamb disagreed.

“There was a lot of due diligence done here on the part of the Office of Community Development," he countered. "And I seriously appreciate how much effort they put into this. And I really appreciate the benefit that this is going to have for our community.”

Josh Landes has been WAMC's Berkshire Bureau Chief since February 2018, following stints at WBGO Newark and WFMU East Orange. A passionate advocate for Western Massachusetts, Landes was raised in Pittsfield and attended Hampshire College in Amherst, receiving his bachelor's in Ethnomusicology and Radio Production. His free time is spent with his cat Harry, experimental electronic music, and exploring the woods.
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