Below are excerpts from the most recent sets of minutes available of Northampton’s Economic Development, Housing, and Land Use committee. They outline the thought process that has gone on regarding steam-lining the permitting process for commercial development on Hospital Hill and Atwood Drive. Is a concurrent process better than a serial one?
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February 2008, Chapter 43D
Teri Anderson distributed a handout from the State’s Executive Office of Economic Development, Expedited Local Permitting, Chapter 43D Facts. This legislation allows a municipality to guarantee a 180-day turnaround on a project. The City Council must adopt the ordinance and the accompanying process. Adoption of this legislation would enable the City to add the state hospital project to the State’s national marketing campaign as a targeted priority development site. Process: If the Council does not adopt 43D the City will not get expedited access to grant funding. Councilor Reckman asked for the grant’s dollar amount: $100,000. Wayne Feiden said that while no permit has taken longer than 180 days, our process has been a serial, not a parallel, process. Mayor Higgins stressed that Northampton does not have much available industrial land. Other towns do. Northampton needs to be more competitive and more attractive at least at the one-stop-permitting level in order to keep and attract industry. Teri said the City is about to implement an economic development self-assessment tool that includes permitting that will compare us to other communities in MA.
December 2007, Expedited local permitting
Teri Anderson distributed a handout from the State’s Executive Office of Economic Development, Expedited Local Permitting, Chapter 43D Facts. This legislation allows a municipality to guarantee a 180-day turnaround on a project. Benefits, from the fact sheet:
- Grants up to $100,000 for such things as professional staffing assistance, local government reorganization, and consulting services
- Priority consideration for PWED, CDAG, brownfields remediation assistance, MORE infrastructure funds, and other financing through quasi-public organizations
- Aggressive online marketing of your site and promotion of your pro-business regulatory climate
- Collection of special fees for priority development site permit applications
Adoption of this legislation would enable the City to add the state hospital project as well as the Shumway project near the Clarion Hotel to the State’s national marketing campaign as a targeted priority development site. Process: Submitted to City Council in December for two votes, to Planning Board for approval, and public comment. Teri asked EDHLU members if this effort was realistic in such a tight time frame without broad public comment. Councilor Narkewicz responded that it was not realistic during the holiday season and that the effort would mean different things procedurally to different people. An expedited permit process could mean to some people that environmental aspects of a project get short shrift. Mayor Higgins added that there would be no time for the public education piece necessary. Councilor Narkewicz: Agreed, especially in light of our Best Practices effort.
Wayne Feiden asserted that what matters is how a community thinks about a project. It is usually undertaken serially, from Planning Board to Building Inspections to D.P.W., etc. for each project. How do we move to a parallel process? Mayor Higgins added that the City needs a circular process with lots of input all along and at all points. Our current process is reactive. Councilor Narkewicz responded that he wants the City to make good project decisions that do not get derailed because we act too hastily. Wayne: When applicants apply for a serial permit, they don’t understand what all the issues may be. Councilor Narkewicz: This is exactly what Best Practices is about. Mayor Higgins agreed to push MassDevelopment to insert itself into the State’s marketing campaign.
