Mount Holyoke College (MHC) is attempting to pressure South Hadley into allowing a 6,000 square foot electrical power plant to be constructed on Woodbridge Street, next to All Saints Episcopal Church and across from The Ruby apartment building. MHC calls the proposed building an “Energy Center” to “showcase” their commitment to carbon neutrality. Yet MHC’s own architect said at a public hearing on April 14: “Basically it’s an electrical power plant.” This is a residential zone. The South Hadley Planning Board must prohibit this industrial use. It will destroy the neighborhood’s charming village character, and abutters and nearby residents will be subjected to constant noise from the electrical power plant heat pumps. After encountering significant opposition from residents at that public hearing, MHC now claims the Planning Board has no jurisdiction and zoning regulations do not apply. They claim that the college is exempt under a state law called the Dover Amendment. The Dover Amendment gives institutions latitude in using land and structures for educationally significant purposes. But the Dover Amendment also stipulates the educationally significant goal must be the primary or dominant purpose. If an electrical power plant is educational, so too is a garbage dump. After all, it could teach students about the importance of recycling. The South Hadley Planning Board needs the courage to stop this industrial facility in a residential neighborhood. I urge town residents to come to the next public hearing. It’s June 23 at the South Hadley Senior Center, 45 Dayton Street; 6:30 p.m.

Linda Sachs

South Hadley