Amherst group eyes land targeted for condos
BY Nick Grabbe
Staff Writer
Published on January 05, 2007
AMHERST - Opponents of a condominium proposal on South East Street in Amherst want to buy the land from the developer and are seeking public money to help reach their goal.
Scott Nielsen has proposed building 24 condominium units just south of the Norwottuck Rail Trail. He is seeking a special permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals to allow that level of density.
The ZBA has held 11 hearings on the proposal over the past 13 months.
Neighbors have vigorously opposed the plan, citing wetlands, wildlife, traffic and the preservation of open space.
The ZBA hearings have been controversial in other ways, sparking a lawsuit by Nielsen against the town and playing a role in the resignation of former Town Counsel Alan Seewald. Last spring, Town Meeting rejected a proposal to rezone the land.
Opponents have now formed the South Amherst Conservation Association and want to raise money to buy the land. They are seeking between $100,000 and $150,000 from the pool of money created by a 1.5 percent surcharge on property taxes under the Community Preservation Act.
They met with Nielsen Wednesday and are scheduled to make their case tonight before the Conservation Commission.
'We're trying to establish whether we can work together on this,' said neighbor Nicholas Thaw.
'The idea is not antagonism but working toward a common solution.'
The group collected pledges of more than $30,000 from 36 people by mid-December.
Nielsen bought the land in 2004 for $750,000. But its development potential makes it worth substantially more, said his attorney, Michael Pill.
The condominium units are expected to sell for about $400,000. Even if the ZBA does not give him a special permit, Nielsen could build between four and nine houses there, said Christine Brestrup, the ZBA's staffer.
Thaw, who lives next door to the land, said the development would have 'a very substantial impact' on him. But he also said neighbors are not only seeking to protect their neighborhood. Although the group formed in response to the Nielsen condo plan, it will look at other South Amherst parcels, he said.
The Community Preservation Act Committee has established a deadline of Jan. 10 for proposals and will begin reviewing them at a meeting Jan. 16. The committee makes recommendations to Town Meeting and typically receives more requests than it has money to allocate, said Chairman Peter Jessop.
The committee will have between $400,000 and $500,000 to work with, including matching money from the state, he said. About $50,000 is already earmarked for the annual debt payments on the improvements to athletic fields on Potwine Lane, he said.
The money can be used for open space acquisition, historic preservation, affordable housing and recreation. This is the first time the committee has received a proposal from neighbors who are seeking to block a specific development, Jessop said.
But there is a precedent for using public money to block development. In 1999, Town Meeting appropriated $75,000 toward the $875,000 purchase of land off Station Road.
