CRC Recommends Everald Henry and Sarah Morton for Appointments to Zoning Board of Appeals
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Report on the Meeting of the Community Resources Committee, June 11, 2026
This meeting was held over Zoom and was recorded.
Present Town Councilors Pam Rooney (Chair, District 4[)], Jennifer Taub (District 4), Mandi Jo Hanneke (at large), Ellisha Walker (at large), and Andy Churchill (at large).
After interviewing seven candidates for six possible positions on the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA), the Community Resources Committee (CRC) recommended the reappointment of ZBA chair Everald Henry to a second three-year term and of Sarah Morton to the second open three-year position. The CRC opted to fill only two of the four possible one-year associate member positions on the board, appointing newcomers Blair Nahm and Francisco Botto. Candidates Hilda Greenbaum, who currently serves as an associate member on the board, and Evan Naismith were not recommended for appointment.
On the Amherst ZBA, full members actively vote on all cases, while associate members serve as alternates who participate only in hearings or vote when filling in for full members due to absences, conflicts, or vacancies. Read more about members’ duties here.
The Candidates
Henry is a defense attorney who has served as chair of the ZBA for the past year. He is also a member of the Community Safety and Social Justice Committee.
Morton is a licensed engineer specializing in energy engineering and is familiar with construction documents and building codes. She grew up in Amherst.
Nahm is a civil engineer and construction professional who moved to Amherst from North Carolina six years ago. He has completed projects in 14 countries and eight states, each with its own bylaws and regulations. He requested an associate position, so he could familiarize himself with Amherst’s Zoning Bylaw.
Botto is a retired attorney who has lived in for 30 years. He is a graduate of Amherst College and returned to the Amherst area in 2022. He also requested an associate position in order to learn how the ZBA operates.
The other applicants were Philip White, Hilda Greenbaum, and Evan Naismith. White has served on the ZBA for the past three years, during which time he was an Amherst College student. Several CRC members were ready to reappoint him until he admitted that he now lives in North Carolina, but is looking to return to Amherst. The town charter states: “Members of all appointed multiple-member bodies shall be residents of the Town at the time of appointment and throughout the term of the appointment, unless otherwise approved by Town Council. (Section 3.3c)” One of his supporters, Mandi Jo Hanneke, admitted that his out-of-state residency disqualified him, especially given that qualified residents were willing to serve.
Greenbaum has served as an associate member for the past two years. She previously served six years as the town assessor and 12 years on the ZBA in the early 2000s. She is a 60-year resident of Amherst and is the only current member who lives in North Amherst.
Naismith is a student at UConn Law School with a special interest in housing. Although he has stated that he would like to reform Amherst’s zoning bylaws to make the town more affordable and provide more tax revenue, he said that if selected for the ZBA, “I will dutifully apply even those bylaws with which I don’t agree, just as I did during my internship at the U.S. Attorney’s Office.”
As in prior interviews, all candidates were asked the same questions, with responses provided in a rotating order. All expressed an understanding that the ZBA is a quasi-judicial body tasked with upholding the zoning bylaws in granting special permits. All expressed a desire to balance the applicant’s requests with the concerns of abutters and the town’s needs.
CRC Deliberation
All five CRC members agreed that Henry had served well on the ZBA for the past three years and should be reappointed. He was recommended for reappointment by a unanimous vote. White also would have been reappointed had he been an Amherst resident. Morton was recommended by a 4-1 vote. Ellisha Walker and Jennifer Taub praised her experience in engineering and construction. Hanneke voted no but wanted to make it clear that she did so only because she preferred Naismith for the second full-member slot.
Andy Churchill praised Nahm for his practical approach expressed in his answers, but noted he was applying for an associate position.
Botto also received positive remarks from the committee for his long career as an attorney and his role as managing partner at his Chicago law firm. Both Nahm and Botto were approved for associate positions by unanimous votes.
The CRC could have recommended Greenbaum and Naismith to associate positions, but the vote on each was 3-2. Hanneke and Churchill voted against Greenbaum, and Taub and Rooney voted against Naismith. The issue was raised that two associate members may be too few, but four may be too many for all of them to get experience serving on a panel. In the past year, one of the two associate members was inactive, and Greenbaum filled in on many panels.
Hanneke rejected Greenbaum because she is a plaintiff in a lawsuit filed against the town and Beacon Communities over Beacon’s proposal to build 140 units of senior and low-income housing on the Mitchell Farm in North Amherst. “The biggest thing in my mind about the ZBA being a quasi-judicial body is that you have to have impartiality and integrity, and you have to stay neutral even when cases are emotional and political[,] and filing a lawsuit against the town on a matter that didn’t even have an application yet, to me, shows an inability to remain impartial on projects that are in the development stage and that may come in front of the body,” she said.
Churchill agreed with her, but Taub pointed out that Greenbaum could recuse herself if the project came before the ZBA and that serving on a committee did not mean that she forfeits her right to use the law.
During the Town Council’s discussion of Naismith’s application for a position on the Planning Board, several councilors raised concerns about the validity of the data he used, the accuracy of his interpretations supporting his arguments, and over his aggressive advocacy on certain issues.
In order to avoid another instance of personal comments about candidates for volunteer positions, the CRC agreed to recommend only two associate members for the coming year. The full council will vote on the appointments at the June 15 meeting.