AMHERST — A new town-gown study will examine ways to meet housing needs of Amherst’s diverse population and to promote economic development that betters the community and the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts.
The town-gown steering committee this week took another step toward hiring a consultant to work with committee members to issue a report on issues that confront the campus and the town. The “request for proposal” document is nearing completion, said Nancy Buffone, the committee’s co-chairwoman and executive director of external relations and university events at UMass.
“It continues to focus on housing and economic development, while keeping in mind issues of public safety, quality of life and sustainability,” Buffone said.
Still in a draft stage, the document is expected to be finalized over the next week following input from the 22-member committee, which met Tuesday. This will be used to solicit and then hire a consultant for the $60,000 study jointly funded by UMass and the town.
Buffone said she and co-chairman David Ziomek, assistant town manager in Amherst, will be crafting the language and, once complete, the document will be put through the university’s procurement process.
“Our goal is that it goes out in the next couple of weeks,” Buffone said.
This means being advertised and posted publicly, as well being sent to consultants who may be interested in undertaking the work.
“We’re trying to move along fairly quickly,” Buffone said.
If everything goes according to schedule, a consultant will be hired in January, public meetings will resume in February, a preliminary draft will be issued by March 25 and a final plan presented by April 15.
The draft document calls for the consultant “to guide a shared process to develop a plan for housing and economic development that will benefit both entities.”
The study could help identify locations or zoning strategies for getting on-campus or off-campus private student housing built, off-campus housing constructed for faculty and staff and to add to the market-rate housing in town.
Consultants are expected to investigate sites and planning for economic development, such as research and development spin-offs, student recreation venues and retail and services.
This will be done while paying close attention to the impact on neighborhoods closest to the campus, where student behavior has been an issue.
The consultant is expected to use previous town and campus studies and master plans, including a traffic study associated with the Gateway project along North Pleasant Street, which is considered dormant.
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