Green Communties Act

Holyoke has been designated as a Green Communtiy through the State's Green Communties Act as one of the 1st of 35 communities across the State leading the way on energy reduction as a community.  As an incentive to work towards the designation, the City has received 5 solar powered trash compactors to be placed throughout the community as well as a grant through the State to be used towards reducing the City's energy consumption.

Background

In 2008 the Massachusetts Legislature created the Green Communities Program.  The program encourages "green" behavior by muncipalities which focuses on reducing energy efficiency. 

There are 5 criteria that a muncipality must meet in order to be designated a Green Community, they are:

• As-of-right siting of renewable and alternative energy generating facilities, renewable or alternative energy research & development facilities, or renewable or alternative energy manufacturing facilities in designated locations.
• Adopt an expedited application and permitting process under which these energy facilities may be sited within the municipality and which shall not exceed 1 year from the date of initial application to the date of final approval.
• Establish an energy use baseline inventory for muncipal buildings, vehicles, street and traffic lighting, and put in place a comprehensive program designed to reduce this baseline by 20% witin 5 years or initial participation in the program.
• Purchase only fuel-efficient vehicles for municipal use whenever such vehicles are commercially available and practicable.
• Adopt the Stretch Code which requires all new residential construction over 3,000 square feet and all new commercial and industrial real estate construction minimize, to the extent feasible, the life-cycle cost of the facility by utilizing energy efficiency, water conservation and other renewable or alternative energy technologies.

Qualifying as a Green Community allows a community to apply for grants to finance all or a portion of the cost of studying, designing, constructing and implementing energy efficiency activities, including but not limited to energy efficiency measures and projects; procurement of energy management services; installation of energy management systems; adoption of demand side reduction initiatives, and the adoption of energy efficiency policies. 

Stretch Code

Green Communities Program

Green Communities Brochure 

Canalwalk

The Canalwalk is a pedestrian and bicycle promenade that will line the City's historic canals.  The Canalwalk is an urban revitalization project which is expected to be a catalyst for economic development in Holyoke.  The project will link City Hall, Holyoke Heritage State Park, Holyoke Arts Corridor, Holyoke Children's Museum, the future Connecticut Riverwalk, and many businesses, artist studios, and other interesting destinations. It will feature a 12 to 20 foot wide promenade, benches,  decorative paving, historic lighting, and canal-front landscaping.

• Canalwalk Phasing Plan
• Canalwalk Brochure
• Phase I Ribbon Cutting - Channel 22 news 
• Phase I Ribbon Cutting - CBS3 Springfield

Work on completing the Phase II design will begin this summer.  Stay tuned for upcoming meetings.

Brownfields Program

The Office of Planning & Development manages the City's Brownfields Program.  The City has assessed over 30 parcels of land and is looking forward to assessing another round of parcels through the recently received EPA Assessment Grant.  The City's program also includes 2 EPA Cleanup projects and a partnership with Nuestras Raices on their EPA CARES Grant.

• ADAMS PAKKAWOOD SITE:  The City will be remediating the formers Adams Pakkawood Site at 191 Appleton Street this Spring/Summer.  The site is located between the 1st and 2nd level canals and abutting to the Canalwalk.  The Office of Planning & Development, with assistance from Tighe & Bond, is preparing the required approvals and documentation now, including a Request for Determination of Applicability from the Conservation Commission, and the Analysis of Cleanup Alternatives.
  • Analysis of Brownfields Cleanup Alternatives

• MOUNTAIN ROAD:  The City received an EPA Cleanup Grant for the former Mountain Road Firing Range through the ARRA.  The parcel is 19 acres and mostly covered by wooded vegetation.    The past use of the site as a small arms firing range has previously been established.  A street listing for Mountain Road showed a listing for the "National Guard Shooting Range and Club House" for the years 1941, 1950, 1958, 1966, 1974, 1984, and 1990 as documented in the Brownfields Investigation Report.  The 1938 topographical map indicated that the majority of the site had been cleared. Removal of the contamination will begin this coming Fall.  Stay tuned.
• • Public Meeting - July 20, 2010 - 5:30 p.m. - Pilsudski Park, County Road, Holyoke
    • Public Meeting Powerpoint
  • Community Relations Plan

• MAPLE STREET PARKING LOT:  The City conducted site assessment of a parcel of land located within the City parking lot on Maple Street.  Petroleum products have been found in the soil and above the groundwater.  Holyoke received an Underground Storage Tank (UST) Grant from the MassDEP to remove the contamination.  The funding was provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).  Work was completed on the site, all contaminated soil was removed.
  • All files can be found at MassDEP

Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Project

The Planning Department has partnered with the DPW and the Housing Authority in creating a TOD enhancement project.  The project preliminary design was funded through a State TOD Bond Bill Grant of $50,000 and includes design of road reconstruction of Heritage and Front Streets, sewer separation of Heritage Street, and pedestrian improvements for both of the above streets as well as Dwight Street.  A public charette was held during the project design at which residents of the area chose the preferred design.  Pre-25% design plans have been completed for this Phase I.  CDBG has been secured for FY11 to complete the design plans for the Front Street portion of the plans. 

The City has partnered with EPA New England staff to submit an application to the Smart Growth Grant Program and were successful in receiving an additional $50,000 to begin design plans Phase II, for connections to the future passanger rail stop.  Public meetings will begin in late summer to early fall to begin this design work.

Center City Vision Plan

The City of Holyoke is beginning the Urban Renewal process of the Flats, Churchill, South Holyoke, Prospect Heights and Downtown areas that have a great need for reinvestment and revitalization in order for Holyoke's City Center to thrive and prosper.

Project Background:

The goal of this study is to create vibrant, diverse, safe neighborhoods in downtown Holyoke where all residents can live, work, and play. This study sets the vision for a future Urban Renewal Plan within this area.

The planning process included three Public Forums to discuss; issues and opportunities, alternative vision plans and the preferred vision plan. 

 COPIES OF THE FINAL PLAN ARE AVAILABLE AT THE OFFICE OF PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT

MEETING MATERIALS

• Meeting 3 Powerpoint Presentation
• Introduction
• Issues & Opportunities
• Preferred Plan
  • Complete Streets
  • Key Nodes
  • Arts & Innovation
  • Expand Open Space
  • Transform Riverfront
  • Restore Urban Neighborhoods
• Elements of the Preferred Plan  

Ingleside Traffic Study

The City received a grant from the State to study and develop design recommendations to improve traffic in the Ingleside neighorhood through the Chapter 43D legislation.  Work has begun on the study with initial data collection, including a public meeting to gather first hand knowledge from the residents of the area.  Below are materials from that meeting as well as other relevant data. 

Ingleside Public Meeting Meeting Summary

Ingleside Traffic Questionaire

PRELIMINARY TRAFFIC SOLUTIONS:

Below are the traffic solutions as presented at the Second Public Meeting on January 29th.  The next step will be to incorporate comments from the public meeting into the drawings to complete the final report of improvement alternatives.

• Ingleside Traffic Issues Map
• Homestead / Lower Westfield Road Option A
• Homestead / Lower Westfield Road Option B
• Interstate 91 Interchange

Priority Development Sites (Chapter 43D):

Holyoke has accepted Chapter 43D-Expedited Permittingand has been approved for a Priority Development Site through the State's Interagency Permitting Board.  The City has chosen Kelly Way as their first site and has committed to make all decisions on reviews within 180-days on that site.  As a part of this project the City also received a $100,000 grant which will be used to further study the traffic concerns in the Ingleside Neighborhood.  Other activities that the City is engaging in to further expedite permitting are creating a permitting handbook and working to hold more joint public hearings on sites.

Holyoke Priority Development Site Locus Map

Kelly Way Priority Development Site Map

Kelly Way Property Information Sheet

http://www.massachusettssitefinder.com/ 

Holyoke's 1st Priority Development Site was fully permitted in 69 days!!

The Intermodal Transportation Center is a cooperative development project between the City of Holyoke, a Private Developer, and the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority.  The project will include a mix of uses in the former Fire Department Headquarters, as well as a state of the art transportation facility bringing regional Peter Pan Bus Service to the City.

Construction has begun on the renovations to the building!!

Smart Growth Overlay District (Chapter 40R)

The City has partnered with the PVPC, Easthampton and Westfield to develop Chapter 40R Districts concurrently.  Holyoke has chosen the Dwight Street Corridor for its Overlay District in hopes to encourage infill homeownership opportunities as well as adaptive reuse of buildings into market rate housing.  The City Council adopted the Overlay District in June 2008.  See Section 8.9 of the Zoning Ordinance.

Chapter 40R Smart Growth Overlay District Ordinance

Transportation & Climate Change Project

Holyoke is working with ICLEI and other cities and regional planning organizations in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont to develop a vision to reduce greenhouse gasses in the Connecticut River Valley.  The key focus of the group is to reduce the level of carbon emmissions by increasing the use of rail, both passenger and freight within the Pioneer Valley.

• ICLEI 
• Holyoke Case Study
• CT River Corridor Transportation Vvision