Category: Daily Hampshire Gazette

  • Smith College students drop a banner in support of Climate Superfund bill

    BOSTON — Smith College environmental justice advocates plan to deliver petitions to the Legislature’s Committee on Environmental and Natural Resources later this month, after recently dropping a banner saying “Make Polluters Pay” on the Lamont Bridge.

    The student advocates recently dropped the banner to raise awareness for a bill that would create a fund to support groups impacted by environmental pollution.

    According to Sen. James Eldridge, D-Malborough, one of the sponsors for the bill, the fund would be supported by a tax on fossil fuel corporations. This tax would be a “one-time fee” proportional to the company’s share of emissions from fossil fuels extracted between 1995 and 2024.

    The students who participated in the banner drop identified with the Sunrise Movement, a nationwide student-led activist group dedicated to stopping climate change and promoting the Green New Deal policy, which pushes for net-zero carbon emissions by 2030. Other Sunrise chapters at Mount Holyoke College, Harvard University and Tufts University also dropped banners on campus, while UMass Amherst students painted a mural saying, “Students rise up against pollution.”

    Shira Nathan, a student organizer at Smith’s Sunrise Movement, insisted that the state government does not provide enough disaster relief funding to communities impacted by climate change issues.

    “Climate change is here. The climate crisis is already affecting our communities. Western Mass. faced both extreme flooding and extreme droughts within like a five-year span,” Nathan said.

    During the Smith College Sunrise banner drop, students gave speeches, marched to Lamont Bridge and gathered signatures for the “Make Polluters Pay” petition. This petition already surpassed the campaign’s goal of 5,000 signatures, and the campaign set a new goal of 7,000 signatures by Oct. 21.

    The Northampton City Council passed a resolution to support the state’s climate superfund bill on April 17, becoming the first municipality in western Massachusetts to do so. Smith Sunrise students worked closely with At-Large Councilor Marissa Elkins and Ward Councilor Deborah Klemer, the sponsors of the resolution.

    “It solidifies [Northampton’s] reputation as a leader,” said Emma Coopersmith, a Smith Sunrise student. “We hope to inspire other cities and also the state to do a similar thing.”

    Jeanne Walker, vice president and special counsel of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform, stated the bill would cost Massachusetts companies a “massive new retroactive fee” of up to $75 billion and would increase living costs for Massachusetts residents.

    In an emailed statement, Eldridge expressed concern over the ongoing litigation in other states that have passed climate superfund laws, such as Vermont and New York.

    “We know that this movement contradicts the Trump administration’s campaign to achieve so-called ‘energy dominance’ by polluting our environment and risking public health in expanding oil and gas projects, supporting the coal industry, and cutting promotion of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power,” Eldridge said.

    Last year, a previous version of the bill failed to pass. The current bill expands the scope of climate projects supported by the superfund, including relief from extreme weather events and medical care treating illnesses or injuries caused or aggravated by the effects of climate change.

    Additionally, Nathan said Sunrise chapters nationwide plan to do a walkout in protest of the current administration on Nov. 7, marking one year since President Donald Trump was elected.

    Nathan explained the need for activism, in spite of their student schedule.

    “My homework is due tomorrow, and the climate crisis is ongoing,” Nathan said.

  • Smith College students drop a banner in support of Climate Superfund bill

    BOSTON — Smith College environmental justice advocates plan to deliver petitions to the Legislature’s Committee on Environmental and Natural Resources later this month, after recently dropping a banner saying “Make Polluters Pay” on the Lamont Bridge.

    The student advocates recently dropped the banner to raise awareness for a bill that would create a fund to support groups impacted by environmental pollution.

    According to Sen. James Eldridge, D-Malborough, one of the sponsors for the bill, the fund would be supported by a tax on fossil fuel corporations. This tax would be a “one-time fee” proportional to the company’s share of emissions from fossil fuels extracted between 1995 and 2024.

    The students who participated in the banner drop identified with the Sunrise Movement, a nationwide student-led activist group dedicated to stopping climate change and promoting the Green New Deal policy, which pushes for net-zero carbon emissions by 2030. Other Sunrise chapters at Mount Holyoke College, Harvard University and Tufts University also dropped banners on campus, while UMass Amherst students painted a mural saying, “Students rise up against pollution.”

    Shira Nathan, a student organizer at Smith’s Sunrise Movement, insisted that the state government does not provide enough disaster relief funding to communities impacted by climate change issues.

    “Climate change is here. The climate crisis is already affecting our communities. Western Mass. faced both extreme flooding and extreme droughts within like a five-year span,” Nathan said.

    During the Smith College Sunrise banner drop, students gave speeches, marched to Lamont Bridge and gathered signatures for the “Make Polluters Pay” petition. This petition already surpassed the campaign’s goal of 5,000 signatures, and the campaign set a new goal of 7,000 signatures by Oct. 21.

    The Northampton City Council passed a resolution to support the state’s climate superfund bill on April 17, becoming the first municipality in western Massachusetts to do so. Smith Sunrise students worked closely with At-Large Councilor Marissa Elkins and Ward Councilor Deborah Klemer, the sponsors of the resolution.

    “It solidifies [Northampton’s] reputation as a leader,” said Emma Coopersmith, a Smith Sunrise student. “We hope to inspire other cities and also the state to do a similar thing.”

    Jeanne Walker, vice president and special counsel of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform, stated the bill would cost Massachusetts companies a “massive new retroactive fee” of up to $75 billion and would increase living costs for Massachusetts residents.

    In an emailed statement, Eldridge expressed concern over the ongoing litigation in other states that have passed climate superfund laws, such as Vermont and New York.

    “We know that this movement contradicts the Trump administration’s campaign to achieve so-called ‘energy dominance’ by polluting our environment and risking public health in expanding oil and gas projects, supporting the coal industry, and cutting promotion of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power,” Eldridge said.

    Last year, a previous version of the bill failed to pass. The current bill expands the scope of climate projects supported by the superfund, including relief from extreme weather events and medical care treating illnesses or injuries caused or aggravated by the effects of climate change.

    Additionally, Nathan said Sunrise chapters nationwide plan to do a walkout in protest of the current administration on Nov. 7, marking one year since President Donald Trump was elected.

    Nathan explained the need for activism, in spite of their student schedule.

    “My homework is due tomorrow, and the climate crisis is ongoing,” Nathan said.

    Joanna Malvas writes for the Gazette as part of the Boston University Statehouse Program.

  • Filling the gap: Advocates call for more ‘missing middle’ housing

    BOSTON — Western Massachusetts affordable housing nonprofits are backing a bill that would outlaw certain local zoning restrictions against multifamily home developments at a recent State House hearing.

    Valley Community Development Corporation Executive Director Alexis Breiteneicher told the Legislature’s Committee on Housing that mid-sized housing that fits into smaller rural communities is necessary amidst Massachusetts’ affordable housing crisis.

    Valley CDC is a nonprofit based in Northampton that builds affordable housing, offers resources to first-time homeowners, and has built over 400 affordable homes across Northampton, Easthampton, Amherst and Hadley.

    “The missing middle housing that really deals with not single-family homes, but also not 20-plus apartment buildings, is super needed,” Breiteneicher said in an interview. “And as I said in my testimony, we need housing of all types. All of it is really critical right now.”

    Keith Fairey, president and CEO of Way Finders, testified alongside Breiteneicher at the hearing, stating that the opportunities for modest housing developments like duplexes and multifamily homes are “blocked by outdated zoning rules, minimum lot sizes, excessive frontage requirements, and parking mandates.”

    Way Finders is a nonprofit based in Springfield that builds affordable housing, assists with home ownership, and offers emergency resources.

    According to Fairey, western Massachusetts only allows 0.8 building permits per 1,000 residents, in comparison to the U.S. average being 4.1 building permits per 1,000 residents.

    “If we were the state, that would make us the 50th in production,” Fairey said.

    Northampton Republican City Committee chair Jay Fleitman expressed opposition to the bill’s state-imposed zoning regulations, insisting that the bill would lead to housing development that worsens traffic with the increase in population and causes unwanted large building projects in small neighborhoods.

    “A one-sized-fits-all solution never really works,” Fleitman said.

    If passed, the bill would outlaw any zoning ordinances or bylaws prohibiting the development of multifamily housing and duplexes in areas connected to sewer systems and centrally managed water. Dimensional restrictions are allowed by the bill, but the height of duplexes and multifamily houses cannot be restricted to less than two stories.

  • Filling the gap: Advocates call for more ‘missing middle’ housing

    BOSTON — Western Massachusetts affordable housing nonprofits are backing a bill that would outlaw certain local zoning restrictions against multifamily home developments at a recent State House hearing.

    Valley Community Development Corporation Executive Director Alexis Breiteneicher told the Legislature’s Committee on Housing that mid-sized housing that fits into smaller rural communities is necessary amidst Massachusetts’ affordable housing crisis.

    Valley CDC is a nonprofit based in Northampton that builds affordable housing, offers resources to first-time homeowners, and has built over 400 affordable homes across Northampton, Easthampton, Amherst and Hadley.

    “The missing middle housing that really deals with not single-family homes, but also not 20-plus apartment buildings, is super needed,” Breiteneicher said in an interview. “And as I said in my testimony, we need housing of all types. All of it is really critical right now.”

    Keith Fairey, president and CEO of Way Finders, testified alongside Breiteneicher at the hearing, stating that the opportunities for modest housing developments like duplexes and multifamily homes are “blocked by outdated zoning rules, minimum lot sizes, excessive frontage requirements, and parking mandates.”

    Way Finders is a nonprofit based in Springfield that builds affordable housing, assists with home ownership, and offers emergency resources.

    According to Fairey, western Massachusetts only allows 0.8 building permits per 1,000 residents, in comparison to the U.S. average being 4.1 building permits per 1,000 residents.

    “If we were the state, that would make us the 50th in production,” Fairey said.

    Northampton Republican City Committee chair Jay Fleitman expressed opposition to the bill’s state-imposed zoning regulations, insisting that the bill would lead to housing development that worsens traffic with the increase in population and causes unwanted large building projects in small neighborhoods.

    “A one-sized-fits-all solution never really works,” Fleitman said.

    If passed, the bill would outlaw any zoning ordinances or bylaws prohibiting the development of multifamily housing and duplexes in areas connected to sewer systems and centrally managed water. Dimensional restrictions are allowed by the bill, but the height of duplexes and multifamily houses cannot be restricted to less than two stories.

    The bill would also outlaw minimum parking lot requirements on new residential developments.

    Past state zoning reform laws that have addressed the affordable housing market include The Affordable Homes Act, signed into law by Gov. Maura Healey in 2024, and the “MBTA Communities Act,” signed into law by former Gov. Charlie Baker in 2021.

    Like the bill, the MBTA Communities Act promotes middle housing by mandating MBTA-serviced municipalities to zone at least one multifamily housing district. This law received resistance as several municipalities — Milton, Marshfield, Middleborough and Halifax — remained noncompliant to the state’s zoning regulations as of March 2025.

    Breiteneicher expected some Northampton residents to push back on the bill if its enacted into law.

    “Northampton is a pretty favorable community to do affordable housing development in, and even in that community, there are certain neighborhoods that really believe that anything more than a single family is detrimental to the character of the neighborhood,” Breiteneicher said.

    Joanna Malvas writes for the Gazette as part of the Boston University Statehouse Program.