Amherst studies potential zoning for closing college campus

Following Hampshire College’s announcement in April that it will be closing at the end of this year, the town of Amherst has created a zoning study to prepare for potential future uses for the 800-acre campus, 690 acres of which are in Amherst.

Town staff had held an initial discussion with representatives from Hampshire College in January on potential zoning changes for portions of campus. When the closure was announced months later, “that really shifted our focus,” said Amherst Planning and Economic Development Director Jeff Bagg.

Bagg quickly reached out to MassDevelopment to discuss the impacts of the college closure and potential next steps for the town. By the end of May, the two parties had entered into a grant agreement that would provide the town with technical assistance to study and rezone the college’s campus.

Because part of the campus crosses the border into Hadley, that town is also involved in the process as a stakeholder.

The zoning study comprises two phases, which will occur through the end of this year. The first phase includes small group stakeholder interviews, a conditions analysis, conceptual design scenarios, a study website, and an initial public listening session.

Stakeholder engagement continues in the second phase, which includes a public design and visioning workshop as well as further scenario development and testing, draft zoning amendments, and a final report detailing zoning recommendations based on feedback and analyses completed during both phases.

“Our zoning study is really intended to inform [the town’s decision-making process] with baseline information, and then set up zoning that would allow multiple sets of different uses,” Bagg said.

The Hampshire College Board of Trustees still owns the land and will make all decisions about the marketing and sale of the property. Three independent entities located on the campus will remain open through the closure and transition process.

Through the agreement, MassDevelopment assembled a team of consultants with environmental, land use, and economic development expertise to help develop a community-driven planning process that supports future development and uses.

Hampshire’s campus dates to the 1960s, with additional infrastructure and buildings added in the 1970s and 1980s. One of the biggest and most pressing challenges, Bagg said, is that “we’ve never studied the land. We’ve never evaluated it. We’ve never really looked at the zoning.”

Once the evaluation is complete, the town will have a better understanding of development opportunities that might be possible or available, and how those opportunities could align with the town’s goals.

“The town has these goals to provide housing,” Bagg said. “It’s in all of our planning documents, and realizing that [the campus] is not zoned to allow housing was something that we wanted to take really seriously to see if we could help encourage a potential use that would be housing.”

Strategic planning, along with community and stakeholder engagement, and an understanding of limitations, are critical to navigating a process like the one unfolding with Hampshire’s closure, he said.

“We wanted to be proactive,” Bagg said. “And seeing the importance of the land and seeing the importance of the town’s goals, our zoning effort is really the only thing that we can pursue to help align our goals with the potential sale of the property.”