Since January of this year, opinion pieces have peppered the Recorder regarding the proposed development on Stone Farm Lane. Common themes amongst the development’s detractors, especially the “Sunrise Neighborhood Coalition (SNC),” include the loss of rural character, and the destruction of local ecology. Notably, many of these op-ed authors mention that they do support the development of affordable housing, but simply not this specific project. It is one thing to say you support affordable housing and the preservation of our forests; it is another to actualize that support in material ways.
The riparian forest in question is struggling. Climate change and the proliferation of invasive species and blight mean that the health of our forests depends on active stewardship of the land, including the removal of invasive species and the management of native species. Land stewardship, thankfully, is a core aspect of both the Valley Community Land Trust and the Valley Housing Co-op’s missions; professional ecological designers have been contributing to a stewardship plan, and Valley Housing Co-op (VHC) frequently facilitates volunteer removal of non-native species.
On that note, I can’t help but notice that, for a group of people ostensibly (and rather conveniently) concerned with rare wetland species and ecosystem degradation, the Sunrise Neighborhood’s landscapes are composed almost entirely of high-input grasses and non-native ornamentals. If the SNC wants to protect their forest, perhaps they could use their new-found organization to create a neighborhood-wide stewardship plan on their collective 15-plus acres (triple the proposed development footprint). They could, for example, turn their lawns into meadows with native grasses and wetland species, to encourage the proliferation of local wildlife and use fewer inputs.
Another common argument amongst the SNC is that the development will ruin the “rural character” of the neighborhood. I want to first point out that this neighborhood is five minutes from downtown Greenfield, directly off a major throughway. The landscape has been significantly disturbed from sand and gravel mining. This is hardly a pristine rural location. Furthermore, the development plan in question is almost entirely contained to existing roads, meaning intrusion into the forest is kept to a minimum. Given all of the benefits the inhabitants receive from their proximity to Greenfield it seems reasonable to me that they (like many neighborhoods) share in the responsibilities of affordable development.
Furthermore, denser development is in fact much more likely to preserve character than sprawling low-density development (a sentiment echoed in the 2024 Franklin County Regional Housing Plan, published by FRCOG). If these folks value the forest and current layout of the neighborhood as much as they claim, it stands to reason that they would want the smallest development footprint possible. The development plans on Stone Farm Lane involve the creation of 34 units over 5 acres. The average lot size in the Sunrise Neighborhood is 0.3 acres. To accommodate the same number of lots with current zoning would require 10.2 acres, more than double the proposed footprint. Additionally, the typical homes in the neighborhood are 3-4 bedrooms and 2,000 sq ft, often occupied by less than two people. In contrast, Noble Home’s proposed multifamily is a total of 11,550 sq ft, which will house people much more efficiently.
To be perfectly frank, I don’t believe that the points brought up by the SNC are being argued in good faith. To be suddenly concerned with the ecological health of your forest, having taken zero steps to responsibly steward the land on which you have immediate power, strikes me as disingenuous, as does the characterization of your neighborhood as “rural” and detached from the housing issues plaguing the city five minutes from your doorstep. People concerned with local ecologies don’t baselessly attack their neighbors who have devoted countless hours promoting the ecological health of their shared land (not to mention the SNC’s vilification of the Conservation Commission). We should call this what it is: NIMBYism. These folks don’t want to share what they consider theirs with locals in need, people hovering around median income levels who want the same opportunities that the SNC was able to capitalize on decades ago. The proposed development is ecologically sound (beyond what is required by state and local law) and helps alleviate our housing crisis with as small a footprint as possible. And the “Sunrise Neighborhood” is not an isolated oasis being intruded on by ne’er-do-wells from the city; it is very much a part of Greenfield, a city that needs support for its struggling citizens.
Josie Wakerobin lives in Deerfield and has a master of science degree in ecological design and planning.
Deerfield, MA