AMHERST — Possible barriers to both new housing construction and other development is among concerns town planners have should a new Local Historic District be created for the East Amherst village center.
While 55 properties that make up Amherst’s original commercial center are being examined for what could become the town’s third Local Historic District, members of the Planning Board, during a recent review of the draft study report, outlined some of the worries they have.
At the Oct. 8 meeting, board member Jerah Smith said it’s important to acknowledge that if the district is created it would make it more difficult, and likely expensive, to build along lower Main Street near the intersection with North East and South East streets.
“This is going to make it more challenging to make it affordable to build here,” Smith said.
Board member Angus McLeod, too, worried about whether this could block significant development, with the possible need for more housing in a part of town close to where the new 575 K-5 elementary school is being constructed.
Chairman Doug Marshall said Amherst needs to be careful to strike a balance between areas where character is preserved, and other areas where this character can change and evolve. He also noted that this could add another layer of approval.
“It feels like another special permit to be required,” Marshall said.
The Planning Board review comes as the draft study report for the proposed district, prepared by Chris Skelly of Skelly Preservation Services, was submitted to the Massachusetts Historical Commission for comment.
Following a 60-day review period, which will include a review by the town’s Historical Commission, a second public hearing will be held to discuss the comments and feedback received prior to submitting a final report to the Town Council.
The Town Council, possibly in early 2026, would determine whether or not to approve another district, joining one centered on the Emily Dickinson museum on Main Street, the other the North Prospect-Lincoln-Sunset closer to the University of Massachusetts campus. Those districts were created by Town Meeting in 2012 and 2017, respectively.
The Local Historic District Commission has unanimously recommended its establishment.
Planning Board member Bruce Coldham said he worries that with 18th, 19th and 20th century structures in the district, that having the district would disallow 21st century buildings from being part of it.
Coldham said he wouldn’t object to well-designed, modern buildings, and doesn’t believe the town should be trying to keep them out.
“The narrative should include the story of today and tomorrow, not just yesterday,” Coldham said.
Coldham said the district shouldn’t be seen as an impediment of thoughtful development, but about how to preserve character and buildings.
Steve Bloom, a member of the local Historic District Committee, said the effort is not about trying to freeze the look of structures, as is done in Nantucket, but to make sure buildings are compatible, pointing to a recently rebuilt home on McClellan Street that takes on the appearance of a 100-year-old building.
The homes in the district, Bloom said, including some from the founding families of town, such as the Noah Dickinson House at 743 Main St., the Daniel Kellogg House at 76 North East St. and the Ebenezer Mattoon House at 58 South East St., as well as other important sites, like the Clapp Tavern at 6 South East St., a circa 1737 building converted into law offices, where some of the planning for Daniel Shay’s Rebellion took place.
“History is our brand,” Bloom said.
“This is what makes this place this place, and it’s worth protecting,” Bloom said.
Skelly said he is unsure of studies that show there would be less construction inside these districts than outside them, and in some places having the districts in place makes a neighborhood more livable and walkable.
Planning Board members asked whether some of the modern properties could be removed from the district, such as apartments off North East Street.
Senior Planner Nate Malloy said the district needs to include all properties, even those with so-called non-contributing structures, because that would provide an opportunity to shape development in the future. The map of the district largely covers an existing National Historic Register District.
