Planning Board Green Lights Downtown Dorm Despite Resident Complaints

Despite concerns from some Amherst residents, the town planning board voted on Nov. 1 against reopening a hearing regarding the development of a college dorm downtown.

The town’s zoning bylaws do not permit dormitories in downtown Amherst areas zoned as general business (B-G) districts. However, since the residences will be connected to the Amherst College Store, the planning board found that the development qualifies as a mixed-use building, so it cannot be denied.

The new dorm project was originally presented to the planning board as an apartment space primarily for students on Jan. 29, and was approved as a mixed-use building. However, the college later agreed to lease the building from the owner of the property, Barry Roberts, for Amherst students. The changes were presented by Roberts to the planning board on Oct. 16.

The news that the space would become a dorm sparked immediate controversy among some town residents.

Janet McGowan, an attorney and former member of the planning board, was present when the project was initially approved in June. She said that the board was given little notice of the changes to the original plan.

“When they came back to the planning board asking for this change, it was really last minute,” McGowan said. “This came in a few days before the meeting, and some people work all day. They didn’t really discuss these other parts of the bylaw.”

Robert Kusner, an Amherst resident and professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, echoed the concerns over the changes in the project. “Something slightly deceptive happened,” Kusner said. “It’s a switch in what had been negotiated.”

Amid the controversy, planning board member Karin Winter proposed the board should reopen the hearing on Nov. 1 to assess whether the project could go ahead, citing concerns over what counts as a dormitory for zoning purposes. However, the proposal to reopen discussion was defeated three to two.

The matter was brought up again at the Nov. 6 planning board meeting by town resident Ken Rosenthal during public comment, where he asked the board to reopen the discussion.

Winter argued that the board should solicit the advice of the town attorney to evaluate the legality of the project and that the town could allow the college to lease the space while also giving certain requirements about the building’s use.

“They could still change the floor plan, they don’t have to have a lot of single bedrooms,” Winter said. “I think retired professors of Amherst College, some visiting faculty, visiting lecturers, could easily live there. And that would make it a very attractive thing for the town and for Amherst College.”

Planning board Chairman Douglas Marshall responded to Winter’s concerns, saying that the current plans for the space fell under the current definition of a mixed-use building. “Maybe this is another loophole, or more generous avenue for people who want to [create student housing space in the downtown],” Marshall said. “I’m open to talk about changing or considering changes to the bylaw.”

Overall, Kusner, along with other town residents, believes that the college could do better with how it engages with the town.

“If Amherst College is able to think of this as a way of engaging more with the Town of Amherst in terms of its contributions, both fiscal as well as cultural, and educational, to the town, great. But if this is yet another way it gets a benefit from the general community without really giving back. It’s tragic,” Kusner said. “I really hope the college will reconsider its course because it doesn’t look good.”