No Consensus on Planning Board Candidates
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Report on the Meeting of the Community Resources Committee, June 12, 2025
This meeting was held over Zoom and was recorded.
Present: Pam Rooney (Chair, District 4), Pat DeAngelis (District 2), Mandi Jo Hanneke (at large), Cathy Schoen (District 1), and Jennifer Taub (District 4)
After interviewing all five candidates for the three open positions on the Planning Board on June 11, the Community Resources Committee (CRC) of the Town Council was deadlocked on the third candidate. Bruce Coldham received all five votes from the committee, and Jerah Smith received four, with Jennifer Taub voting no. However, both Karin Winter and Angus McLeod received three votes (Taub, Pam Rooney, and Cathy Schoen for Winter and Taub, Pat DeAngelis and Mandi Jo Hanneke for McLeod). The committee decided to issue a report, saying that there was no clear preference for the third slot and leave the ultimate decision up to the full council.
Also complicating the decision is that Smith was recommended for appointment to the Amherst Municipal Affordable Housing Trust (AMAHT) by the Town Manager. Council confirmation for that position is on the agenda for the June 16 Town Council meeting. Smith indicated that he is only able to take one of the two appointments and would indicate his preference after discussing it with his spouse. MacLeod is also a candidate for appointment on the Zoning Board of Appeals, as is the fifth Planning Board candidate Steven KaCey. The council will vote on Planning Board candidates at its June 30 meeting.
Winter and Coldham have each served on the Planning Board for the past three years, although Coldham also served for seven years in the past. Both indicated a strong desire to continue working on the initiatives to increase housing in town through overlay districts on University Drive and in North Amherst. Coldham stressed his experience as an architect and his other efforts in the service of the town, such as on the Elementary School Building Committee, the Local Historic District Commission, the North Amherst Community Farm, and the establishment of co-housing communities in North Amherst. Winter said her experience as a teacher enabled her to be flexible and to listen to others. She also serves on the Local Historic District Commission and is the Planning Board representative to the Design Review Board. She has lived in various places, including in Europe, and said she brings an international view to planning.
Of the three new candidates, Smith has the most experience in planning, holding a Master’s Degree in Community Planning, and now working as a housing consultant. However, he stressed that, if appointed, the board would be getting him as “an individual, a family man, a community member, and a professional planner in that order.” He said he approaches each situation with humility and transparency and makes an extra effort to get input from underrepresented groups.
McLeod is an assistant professor at Amherst College and studies school finance. Although he admits he has little experience in planning, he said he is experienced in how communities make decisions and can navigate differences between stakeholders. He stated that zoning is important for maintaining the character of a town, but can also inhibit change. He recommended zoning changes to increase housing in town but up-zoning certain areas to allow more density, modifying parking requirements, and redefining apartments, which are currently limited to 24 units. Both Smith and McLeod are fairly new to Amherst and have young children and full-time jobs.
KaCey grew up in Amherst and has worked as an assessor, a housing inspector, and in the town Finance Department. He is currently a student at UMass. He noted that he is passionate about his community and that land stewardship was very important to him.
CRC Members Fail to Agree on Recommendation to the Town Council
DeAngelis and Hanneke were strongly opposed to Winter and Coldham’s support of a measure to increase the needed lot square footage for an additional unit in the General Residence (RG) zone from 4,000 to 6,000 sq feet that was defeated by the council. Hanneke said that it goes against the goal of increasing density in town. Neither she or DeAngelis live in the RG. Taub, who does live in one, stated that the RG is already the densest area of town and is likely to be more impacted by the new Accessory Dwelling Unit bylaw than any other zone. Hanneke and DeAngelis also objected to Winter’s commitment to protecting neighborhoods for year-round residents. Hanneke spoke for adding diversity to the board by appointing people who did not live near downtown, as five of the current Planning Board members do, and she voted for McLeod and Smith who both live in Amherst Woods. Coldham lives in North Amherst.
Taub objected to Smith’s commenting on the proposed Archipelago project for Atkins corner at a recent Planning Board meeting. She said that he stated that he listens to all stakeholders, yet gave a full-throated endorsement of the project, despite numerous objections voiced by other members of the public. Taub, Schoen, and Rooney expressed that Winter had served conscientiously on the Planning Board for the past three years and that the experience she gained should be respected in rewarding her a second term. Taub pointed out that Hanneke had spearheaded the appointment of a new member last year who had decided that the Planning Board was not for him and resigned after only a few months.
Because two candidates were tied with 3-2 votes from the CRC, the committee decided to summarize the discussion and encourage the rest of the councilors to review the video of the meeting before voting on who should serve on the Planning Board beginning July 1. There is also the complication that Smith may prefer to be on the Housing Trust and that McLeod, if appointed to the Planning Board, may withdraw from consideration for the ZBA, which would diminish the pool of ZBA candidates.
Interviews for the ZBA are scheduled for June 26 at 3 p.m. Statements of interest for the candidates will be posted in the CRC packet a week before that meeting.