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Robards LetterBROOKS ROBARDS 20 Langworthy Road Northampton, MA 01060 cbrooksrobards@gmail.com May 31, 2016 Carolyn Misch AICP Senior Land Use Planner and Permits Manager CMisch@NorthamptonMA.gov Dear Ms. Misch, Please hear out my appeal, which I have also sent to the Planning Board. I am writing to express my deep concern over the potential changes put forward by the owners of the former Clark School for the Deaf property on Round Hill Road under consideration by the Planning Board. I have lived in this neighborhood for more than 25 years and enjoyed its quiet residential nature. I hope that experience can continue. While I understand the interest of the town and the Planning Board in making adequate use of what used to be an educational property, I do not feel the changes put forth by the current owners and their proposed check-writing firm are appropriate or necessary. A business enterprise is in no way equivalent to an educational institution. The removal of trees that is asked for would likely increase the run-off that is already a problem in the neighborhood, as well as add significantly to air and light pollution. This would be the case even though the proposed changes would include water retention systems. Many of the existing trees are mature species that add considerably to the area’s beauty, quiet and environmental probity. Equallyly noxious is the proposal for an impermeably surfaced, 90-space parking lot. The light pollution and run-off (again despite their promises of water retention) make such a development untenable. Not only would such a parking lot increase traffic on the surrounding streets, it does not respond the compelling environmental need to decrease reliance on cars and replace it with bicycles and public transportation. Bus service is available near the end of Round Hill Road on Elm Street. Traffic generated by the Clark School cannot be considered equivalent. Couldn’t the company provide bus service to another location more suitable for parking? I hope you will listen to the considerable number of area residents who, like me, have expressed their distress by stopping the proposed development on Round Hill Road. That means not cutting down healthy, mature trees that give the neighborhood its character and environmental validity just as much as the historic buildings. Even more important, it means stopping the increase in parking and moving the lot to a less intrusive place downtown or elsewhere. I am also concerned that the proposals for change are backed by considerable legal and other expertise that neighborhood residents do not have access to. Please hear our requests with equal weight. I am forwarding this letter to local media outlets including the Daily Hampshire Gazette, the Valley Advocate and Masslive.com/The Republican. I am also sending a copy to Carolyn Misch, Senior Land Use Planner and Permits Manger for the town along with the Mayor’s office. Please listen to the longtime residents of the Round Hill Road area and stop its further development. Sincerely, Dr. Brooks Robards, Ph.D.