Northampton Planning Board Delays Glendale Road Hearing Pending Fire-Flow Review

NORTHAMPTON -- March 13, 2026, Northampton Planning Board continues Florence cluster development hearing for the second time as fire review lags. The board voted unanimously Thursday to continue, without opening, its hearing on a 39-unit open space residential cluster development proposed by Sovereign Builders on Glendale Road in Florence, rescheduling to March 26 at 7:20 p.m. The Department of Public Works and the Northampton Fire Department had not yet completed their review of updated fire-flow information submitted by the applicant, making any substantive board action premature. Board member Cameron Roach, absent from the February 12 session when the project first appeared, confirmed he had watched the meeting recording and was eligible to vote. The board also unanimously approved minutes from its February 12 and February 26 meetings, then spent roughly 20 minutes informally reviewing its June 2024 hybrid meeting rules, agreeing in principle to revise rule five to read: "Since Zoom can't be guaranteed, the best way to have your comment part of the record is to attend in person or send comments", with Planning Director Carolyn Misch to bring back clean language at a future meeting.