Council sends Hampshire rezoning pause to Planning Board

Select Board · Meeting of November 2, 2026

AMHERST — The Amherst Town Council voted 12-0 to send the Hampshire College rezoning pause petition to the Planning Board. The Monday meeting also covered early FY28 budget projections. Town Manager Paul Backelman and Finance Director Sean Mangano projected revenue up 2.93 percent and expenses up 3.09 percent, leaving a $168,000 gap.

Property tax revenue was projected up 3.49 percent, including $650,000 in new growth. Councilors voted 13-0 to recommend Lynn Griesemer and Amber Cano-Martin as members and Mandy Johanneke as alternate on the Regional Agreement Review Advisory Committee. A trash proposal drew debate over whether the bylaw must precede bidding, and Backelman noted that "there is no contract until we sign the contract."

In the full story:

• Joint meeting: long-term fiscal outlook
• FY28 budget projections
• General public comment
• Consent agenda
• Waste hauler update
• Hampshire College petition (Article 19)
• Four Towns Fiscal Study Group report
• Regional Agreement Review Advisory Committee
• Reports and adjournment
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 1,410 words

Source: the Select Board meeting of November 2, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript. It was corrected where it differed.