Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 9/12/2023
An event at Forbes Library in Northampton that aims to focus on Massachusetts zoning regulations is scheduled for Sept. 16 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
The gathering is spearheaded by Nathan Chung, a member and host of Strong Towns Pioneer Valley — which is a local conversation group in the Connecticut River Valley that is part of a wider North American media advocacy organization looking to give citizens the knowledge and tools necessary to learn how to make communities a better place to live.
This particular event is an “informal and beginner-friendly” workshop on Massachusetts zoning with a “Strong Towns lens.”
“I noticed that there are a lot of people who are interested in zoning or maybe don’t know about it, and are confused about what it is,” said Chung.
Chung said he has been facilitating similar meetings and regular events since 2020. He feels that an informal workshop about zoning is a valuable resource to have people gather and chat about different ideas around the topic.
“I think of the different challenges we are facing throughout the whole nation in terms of land use, environmental concerns, development concerns,” Chung said when talking about the inspiration behind the meeting.
The event’s agenda delineates four parts: the first involves looking at zoning as it is now; the second part includes looking at zoning through a more critical “Strong Town” lens; the third part allows for socializing, and then the final part features open discussion and a question and answer session.
Specifically, Chung said attendees will look at a broad overview of how zoning regulations are set up at the state and municipal levels. Then, participants will look more critically at the way in which municipalities are zoned and how that relates to parking minimum requirements, typical restrictions on multifamily housing development, the “missing middle housing” phenomenon, and the dependency of single-family zoning in communities.
“These are some of the Strong Towns ideas that come up, and basically I’m applying these kinds of ideas to Massachusetts zoning,” Chung said.
When asked why it is so important for the general public to understand zoning, Chung said it is because it underlines the way in which cities are developed, but it is also oftentimes an “invisible” concept.
“We often don’t realize a particular building with a particular use is on the parcel because the zoning ordinance allowed for it,” Chung said. “Zoning has a very profound impact on the way we live.”
Chung also added that zoning has a major impact on the physical sustainability and performance of a city as well as the general vibrancy of a place. In some ways, it can also determine how feasible it is to live in a community without a car.
“It has a pretty wide impact on our communities, but we don’t see it,” Chung said. “I just want to help bring more awareness to that.”
Readers can learn more about the event by visiting meetup.com/strong-towns-pioneer-valley-ma/events/295913630/.
Chung said the event is open to the general public in Franklin, Hampshire and Hampden Counties.