Compelling Questions for the Town of Amherst - that form a basis for structuring the scope for a comprehensive plan
The Character of Amherst
The character of the town is a subtle and sometimes ambiguous mix of attributes. This collection of compelling questions attempts to delineate some of these attributes and to identify hard questions and potential decisions about them. It is in the nature of these questions to generate other questions and perhaps other categories of questions. However, the public discussion must be rooted in the notion that every decision will have benefits, costs and long-range consequences. Not deciding has benefits, costs and consequences as well.
The over-arching compelling question - the one that has generated the following categories and questions - is: How can we preserve and enhance the quality of life for Amherst’s residents?
The future composition and character of Amherst
Twenty-five years ago, the Town committed itself to enhancing the diversity of its population. It actively built low-cost housing, housing for seniors and the disabled. Additionally, it provided substantial accommodation for transient, mostly student, populations at the university and colleges. The University of Massachusetts will be evaluating the type, and quality, of housing that will be needed to attract and retain the best students over the next ten years, and will be working cooperatively with many communities to address this issue.
The current housing inventory primarily occupied by students in the town of Amherst will most likely need some degree of re-development or replacement (private development) in order to be competitive on the open market and meet the anticipated profile of desirable student housing/accommodations. There may also be the need to develop new housing opportunities for students, especially married and graduate student populations within a reasonable, commutable distance from the campus.
The demographic reality of our age is that there will soon be a lot more older people. Amherst is widely recognized as a retirement destination in the northeast. Rents are considered to be very high in Amherst, and this is a barrier to many people.
• What are the benefits/costs/consequences of changing the age, occupational and housing mix in Amherst?
• With rents and housing costs being a barrier, what actions are politically acceptable to increase housing access for middle and lower income individuals and families?
• Does Amherst want to cooperate in providing satisfactory student housing or does it prefer that the University arrange for such housing elsewhere? What are the benefits/costs/consequences of this decision?
The desired amount and nature of protected open space
Our town has significant protected open space but it is not evenly distributed. Nor is it effectively linked or is it always where it is needed most.
The idea of open space linkage is offered regularly as a partial solution. Amherst began its life as a farming community. There are still over forty farms operating in town. These businesses add to our civic vitality, to our recreational and visual amenity, and provide opportunities for education and enriching the life experience of our youngsters. But farms are struggling to survive, and they need support. If we really value these benefits we must create citizen support and commitment as a town.
• What are the benefits/costs/consequences of preserving the current level of farming?
• How much open space is enough? Should we change our current percentage of open space? What are the benefits/costs/consequences of increasing and decreasing it?
• Should any open spaces receive special priority for protection? What are the benefits/costs/ consequences of this decision?
• What additional actions and mechanisms, such as transferring development rights and/or tax incentives, can Amherst take to protect and enhance its character in the context of predictable suburbanizing trends?
• Is Amherst willing to accept greater density in select locations (village centers and downtown etc.) to aid in protecting open space? What are the benefits/costs/consequences of this decision?
• Is a linked open space "greenway "system a desirable and supportable idea? Why? What are the benefits/costs/consequences of having such a system?
Downtown and village center development
The development of "village centers" has been the visionary basis for Amherst's growth for over 30 years, but they have a confusing history. They were conceived as a means of concentrating development and preserving the small town quality, but we have lacked the means to realize these early aspirations. Today, they serve neither of the two principal functions that they were intended to serve.
Most people in town do not know how many, or where, our Village Centers are located. Recently we have begun to see Village Centers in economic development terms further relating them to the downtown. Downtown is an orderly cluster of commercial and civic building around a town common – and soon a parking garage. North Pleasant Street is a loose string of buildings that were once homes which now have become shops and offices. The spaces between, and in front of, the buildings have been gradually and often clumsily filled up. The area is ripe for redevelopment.
• Are the long recommended Amherst village centers a viable, desired, and dependable concept in today's fast moving, regionally connected and changing society? Why? What are the benefits/costs/consequences of continuing to support the village center concept?
• How many village centers might Amherst support and where might they best be?
• What is a desired and achievable character for the village centers?
• If Amherst Center is to be encouraged to grow, how and where should it happen? Upward? Outward? Infill? Redevelopment? Toward the University? What are the benefits/costs/consequences of each of these alternatives?
• In what ways does downtown and village center expansion affect the surrounding neighborhoods?
Growth management and self-reliance
Natural systems work as cycles. They have limited tolerance to wastes accumulating in large concentrations. We appreciate the natural beauty of our surroundings and we are increasingly aware of the adverse impacts of pollution upon the health of humans and eco-systems. Therefore we should be examining to what extent the decisions we make as a Town systematically deteriorate the natural systems. How do our purchasing decisions and the type of businesses we encourage to establish here affect our self-reliance?
We live in a region that imports more than 80% of its food and practically all of its energy. Our climate is cold for 4-5 months a year, which makes a continuous energy supply a life-and-death issue, especially for the elderly.
With today's steady, assured flow of electricity, gasoline, food, and other supplies, energy is cheap and therefore gobbled. Yet despite the current low prices, oil and gas remain a limited global resource, and prices are bound to rise over time. Changes to today's precarious global balance, when they come -- and they will come -- are most likely to happen rapidly and with insufficient warning.
• What would we do differently if gasoline/energy costs rose four or five fold? What are the legitimate and real limits and thresholds to guide growth in Amherst into a post-petroleum economy? What are the benefits/costs/consequences of these decisions?
• What are the politically supportable townwide alternative actions that can best reduce energy/fuel consumption and simultaneously maintain life supporting natural cycles? What are the benefits/costs/consequences of these actions?
• How do our purchasing decisions and the type of businesses we encourage to establish here affect our self-reliance in terms of energy, food, and other necessities?
• In terms of local food and energy provision and consumption, what are the benefits/costs/consequences of allowing our farmland to be sold off for housing and other development?
• What cooperative actions can Amherst undertake with neighboring towns to achieve efficiency and economy, and to protect resources?
Economic development and tax base
Education is the major industry in Amherst. The concentration of educational institutions in Town is the principal reason that the Town can raise taxes from only less than half of its land. However, Amherst is a prestigious address with many excellent social and civic amenities, and an educated, under-occupied workforce. There appears to be an emerging breed of clean, high-tech industries that are seeking to locate in towns such as ours.
The town is at the center of a region filled with a wealth of artistic and creative talent -- artists, writers, performers, musicians, storytellers, and craftspeople of extraordinarily skill and accomplishment. This artistic activity is our largest cottage industry, though the telecommunications revolution promises to make working at home a way of life for many more of us.
• Where do people who work in Amherst live? Where do people who live in Amherst work? How far and in which directions do they travel?
• To what extent should Amherst continue to rely on its institutions of higher education for economic stability?
• How actively should it complement and promote tourism, businesses and clean industry?
• What cooperative actions can the towns, the institutions and surrounding communities take to viably promote the valley as a regional destination?
• What is the desired and essential mix of businesses, services and amenities that should be readily available to Amherst residents?
• What specific measures are most likely to strengthen and increase the Amherst tax base?
Cultural Life
Amherst’s university, colleges and schools provide a rich and varied set of opportunities for both performers and audiences. In recent years, the town, through LSSE, has provided musical theater opportunities which have been unique in being directed to different generations and particularly families. However, the town is remarkably deficient in venues for performance, and college venues are virtually unavailable to unaffiliated groups during term. Moreover, there is a vast network of small, struggling artistic and performing groups in and around Amherst whose survival depends upon attracting an audience for their performances. There is also an unmet need for teen venues for performance, recreation and “hanging out.”
• Should a portion of downtown be designated a cultural precinct, as in the idea of Academy Square? What are the benefits/costs/consequences of creating such a precinct?
• Should the school buildings be more available for community use? What are the benefits/costs/consequences of this decision?
• Should the town provide greater resources for after-school activities for youth? Benefits/costs/consequences?
• Should the town acquire/own/operate one or more performing venues? Benefits/costs/consequences?
Civic Life
Amherst has a vigorous, verbose and occasionally venomous civic life. Town Meeting, town boards and town committees are eagerly analyzed, attacked and adored. However, there are signs of serious problems. Town elected positions are frequently uncontested. There is the perception that serving on a public body leads to being verbally abused and one’s time being all- consumed. Those who serve come disproportionately from the ranks of older residents. Not all segments of the population are appropriately represented on some boards. Voting percentages are dismal.
Our public schools have more than 40 languages represented. Those whose customs and traditions are different from the ones that hold sway in town may be hard to reach and involve in everyday decisions.
• How can the town encourage the participation of younger adults, students, and transient residents in its affairs? Benefits/costs/consequences?
• How can the town reach out to underrepresented segments of our population? Benefits/costs/consequences?
• How can the town work with communities that are traditionally reluctant to become involved in civic life? How do we reach the newest residents of town especially those with limited, or no English? What are the benefits/costs/consequences of rising to (or ignoring) this challenge?
Schools
The next generation of residents and leaders in Amherst is now in kindergarten through 12th grade. While the reputation of Amherst's public schools remains high, parents and teachers of these younger children have noted issues of behavior and programs that demand more and more teacher time and taxpayer support.
• How should the town examine and seek to redirect its efforts to nurture the youngest segment of our population?
• What are the implications of an aging infrastructure, and the presence of private and alternative schools, for our educational institutions.
• What are the implications of our children's ever-younger physical maturity and social sophistication?
Transportation, Roads and Parking
Amherst has enjoyed free public transportation, but it has been tied to the university schedule and student housing and limited mostly to major thoroughfares. The proper role of the automobile and the opportunities for safe pedestrian and bicycle traffic have been contentious issues in recent years.
• Should Amherst have a more comprehensive and regular system of public transportation? Should there be better townwide provision for pedestrian and bicycle traffic?
• How do we address need for additional parking downtown if there is significant commercial and cultural development?