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Residents urge review of Northampton's form-based code and demand clearer notice for rezoning
Summary
Residents and neighborhood advocates told the Northampton City Ordinance Review Committee that a form-based code adopted in recent years has enabled higher-density development while removing some affordability and environmental safeguards.
Residents and neighborhood advocates told the Northampton City Ordinance Review Committee that a recently adopted form-based code has allowed higher-density development on residential lots without requiring affordable units or environmental protections.
Daniel Brendel, a city resident, said the form-based codean omnibus package passed early in the current mayor's administrationreclassified roughly two dozen residential parcels to a commercial designation called "Central Business Side Street," removing requirements for affordable housing, green space and some environmental standards. "When you lift the requirements that developers provide affordable housing, limit size, or provide green space, they just won't do it," Brendel said.
Colin Hoffmeister, a Ward 3 resident, described a separate but related concern about notification for rezoning. He said Northampton's zoning code (section 3.50-3.5) requires mailing notice only to the owner of the parcel proposed for rezoning and not to abutting homeowners. Hoffmeister described learning in 2025 that an adjacent parcel had been rezoned in 2022 and later developed as an apartment complex; he recommended amending 3.50-3.5 to require written notice to abutters and to identify parcel numbers and streets clearly.
Hoffmeister also proposed a solar-protection or "solar rights" ordinance to protect homeowners' existing photovoltaic investments from future development that could block solar access. He said the state and city encourage electrification and that losing solar access could impose direct financial costs on homeowners who have already invested in panels.
Committee members said they would collect the public comments and review recommended ordinance changes at their next committee meeting (scheduled for July 9). No formal motions or votes were taken at the forum.
Clarifying details recorded at the forum indicate residents reported being notified by different channels and that Hoffmeister cited the code section number (3.50-3.5) during his remarks.
