Opinion: Welcome to Amherst – Everytown USA

Recently The New Yorker had a cartoon about Amherst. A road sign says “Welcome to Your Home Town”. Under that, a panel:  “Please describe what every building used to be.” And under that, two panels: “They finally fixed that pothole.  Took them long enough.” and “What’s with all the roundabouts?”

All over America I imagine folks saying “Look! The New Yorker has a cartoon about our town!  And that is what Amherst has become, Everytown USA.  For those who have lived here for awhile, there is lots to be nostalgic about.  Downtown used to have a thriving commercial base. No longer, but we still have a Chamber of Commerce. Small businesses used to thrive. No longer, but we do have a Business Improvement District. It made decisions to turn downtown into a student district. Give them plenty of restaurants. Support the Cinema, create an entertainment venue. But students don’t need bookstores, clothing stores, gift shops, or hardware stores. We don’t have enough of these left to sustain the dynamic street life which was a keynote of Amherst before we stopped speaking to each other.

A few times a year, the commercial and business organizations give us a street fair, a town fair, and a food fair, reminiscent of the days when we were a community. Newcomers may be impressed with the bread and circuses but older residents are depressed. And as for roundabouts – what a joy still to find a few stoplights with their clear, unambiguous messages: stop, slow down, and go. I can do all three without fear, nervousness, or honking at stoplights but not at our new roundabouts.

How did this happen?  How did Amherst become Everytown?  There will be different answers to this question, but I will identify several. First, in 2010 Amherst created a Master Plan, as required by the state. This is when Mr. Density and Mr. Infill took up residence in town. This Master Plan, which was never approved by Town Meeting (because the Town’s approval was not sought), was a plan primarily for land use, not people use. I initially served on the Long Range Planning Committee which was charged with the plan’s development and I was charmed and encouraged by the initial consultants who created charettes which truly involved the community and crafted creative and imaginative plans. But those consultants were dismissed and the community work largely ignored. New consultants and a new committee developed the 2010 plan which gave the green light to density and in-fill without ever asking the questions “how much density and in-fill?” or “where should density and in-fill occur?” Ten years later, the new Town Council finally adopted the Master Plan without a murmur and found consultants who would recommend answers: “as much as possible” and “downtown.”

Another answer to the question, how did we become Everytown, is the Home Rule Charter adopted in 2018, a deeply flawed document that destroyed the checks and balances which had prevailed in Amherst. Prior to that date, the Finance Committee was appointed by the elected Town Moderator, and the Planning Board was appointed by the Town Manager, who was chosen by the Select Board. After that date the Finance Committee became a subcommittee of Town Council, which also appointed the Planning Board.

A third answer – and I write it through my tears – is that Amherst lost the great New England democratic tradition of Town Meeting and replaced it (and the Select Board) with Everytown’s form of government. Everytown has some version of a town council. The source of power and influence is in a few hands which may or may not belong to those holding positions in governance. I will not say more about this here because I have written about it often in The Indy, and so have many others. Suffice it to say that the concentration of power in Amherst is no accident.

I write this as 2026 looms a few days ahead.  What can we do in the new year to restore democracy and a balance of power in our governance and preserve what is left of our landscape and history? Many Amherst residents are not particularly concerned about this because they came to Amherst from other Everytowns and don’t plan to stay here very long. Others want their trash picked up, the streets plowed and the potholes filled but otherwise don’t pay too much attention to town government. Residents with longer memories are getting long in the tooth and find it difficult to turn nostalgia into action.  Housing for new families is scarce, having given way to student dormitories and out-of-town investors.

But maybe the answer is simpler. Democracy is hard work, and in Everytown much of that work is done for residents, not by residents.

It is quite possible that in Everytown this is what residents want. I have tried to resist this notion for a long time.  I recognize that even if there is some truth in it, Amherst is blessed with a great many residents, both longtime and recent, who care deeply about the town and work tirelessly to sustain and improve it. Many of them participate in town government. Others write for this paper and other local papers. Some are working hard to recover and document the industrial and social history of our town, while others insist on reminding all of us, including our government, where we are falling short of our aspirations.

The New Year brings a new town government and to its members I say thank you. We will be watching you and I hope you will be hearing from us. Let us all commit ourselves to restoring and sustaining our unique town, where only the “h” is silent. Happy New Year!

Michael Greenebaum was Principal of Mark’s Meadow School from 1970 to 1991, and from 1974 taught Organization Studies in the Higher Education Center at the UMass School of Education.  He served in Town Meeting from 1992, was on the first Charter Commission in 1993, and served on several town committees including the Town Commercial Relations Committee and the Long Range Planning