Planning Board advances PRP housing rezoning effort
Planning Board · Meeting of September 16, 2026
Amherst Planning Board advances a rezoning plan for housing in the Professional and Research Park and opens a debate on capping ADU parking. Member Roy Johnson reported four of six PRP parcel owners are receptive to mixed-use, 55-and-over housing, with Chair Douglas Marshall taking over the Town Council memo. The board approved its June 3 minutes 5-0-1, Roy Johnson abstaining, and signed off on a two-lot subdivision without objection.
Member Jesse Mager warned that ADU-driven parking is changing streets into "parking lot after parking lot," while Angus McLeod floated pairing eliminated parking minimums with new maximums and paid on-street permits. Clerk Bruce Coldham asked that "maximum parking allowances" become a dedicated future agenda item and called the town's new solar-adjacent well setback rule "mindless nonsense." A special permit for 28 Shays Street heads to the Zoning Board of Appeals September 24.
In the full story:
- Who Was There
- Organizations And Documents Referenced
- The complete report — 2,580 words
Source: the Planning Board meeting of September 16, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
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