Amherst councilors lean toward anti-racism training
Amherst Town Hall
AMHERST All 13 members of the Amherst Town Council are expected to participate in a weekend-long anti-racism training workshop to help them better serve the community’s diverse racial and ethnic populations.
Proposed by District 5 Councilor Shalini Bahl-Milne and District 2 Councilor Pat DeAngelis, the virtual training, likely to take place this spring, is supposed to help build trust with the town’s Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) communities that don’t have representation on the council. Aside from Bahl-Milne, who immigrated from India in 2001, there are no councilors of color.
Amherst council backs zoning changes
Amherst Town Hall FILE PHOTO
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST Motivating developers to pursue housing projects downtown and in village centers is a primary goal of zoning priorities being endorsed by the Town Council.
With an affirmative vote Monday on action steps, which councilors deemed consistent with the town’s master plan, the hope is to encourage more housing options for people from all economic backgrounds.
“We have a massive deficit of housing in this town,” said At-Large Councilor Mandi Jo Hanneke.
The 10-3 vote in support of the zoning priorities recommended by the council’s Community Resources Committee came despite concerns raised in writing from several residents, including from a group calling itself Citizens for Better Planning.
Amherst council backs zoning changes
Amherst Town Hall FILE PHOTO
Published: 1/5/2021 2:31:54 PM
AMHERST Motivating developers to pursue housing projects in downtown and village centers is a primary goal of zoning priorities being endorsed by the Town Council.
With an affirmative vote Monday on action steps, which councilors deemed consistent with the master plan, the hope is to encourage more housing options for people from all economic backgrounds.
“We have a massive deficit of housing in this town,” said At-Large Councilor Mandi Jo Hanneke.
The 10-3 vote in support of the zoning priorities recommended by the council’s Community Resources Committee came despite concerns received in writing from several residents, including from a group calling itself Citizens for Better Planning.