Carla Racine, of Northampton, said the market will be open to the public between Memorial Day and the end of October on Saturday and Sunday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.
EASTHAMPTON – A Northampton woman plans to open a seasonal outdoor market at Lyman and Northampton streets in May.
“The Easthampton Outdoor Market will feature a full farmers market, a food concession tent, and up to 50 ... artists, crafters, flea marketers, tag-salers, antiquers, collectors, and professionals networking their services,” said Carla Racine, of Northampton, in documents presented to the Planning Board Tuesday, which approved a special permit for the market.
The board approved the permit under the condition that all structures will be temporary. Racine said the market will be open to the public between Memorial Day and the end of October on Saturday and Sunday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. By 5 p.m. the structures will be taken down, she said.
“It allows for people that have a business that don’t have the overhead quite yet to have their own place and be able to go sell their wares, their goods,” Racine said of the market. “I think this can be a great hit.”
Currently, the former Fedor Pontiac is on the property. Edward Fedor, the land owner, said he was extremely impressed with Racine’s work and looked forward to seeing the market open.
Across the street from the lot is the potential future home of Easthampton Savings Bank’s new loan center, which architect Mark Sternik said will be highly energy efficient and have a look consistent with the city’s history. A permit request for the bank project is pending.
“The design intent was that this building would respect its ties to the historic nature of the city of Easthampton while presenting a timeless, forward-looking vision to the future,” Sternik said. “We think we’ve come a long way in accomplishing that.”
The building uses mostly brick and features a tower 45 feet high, the highest allowed by zoning regulations, making it look like the old mills in the city, Sternik said. It also has tall windows and will use footlights on the sidewalks.
City planner Stuart Beckley said the lights in the parking lot were too tall at 20 feet and that zoning requires they be brought down to 15 feet. The board said they would determine if that requirement can be waived.
A site visit is planned for Monday at noon. The next hearing for the special permit will be held April 12 at 6:45 p.m. at the Municipal Building at 50 Payson Ave.
The Planning Board also granted a special permit to David McCutcheon, of Northampton, to open a retail carpet business in the back of Aubuchon Hardware, also on Northampton Street.
The board approved the permit unanimously on the condition that the parking lot will be paved by Sept. 1 to accommodate more spaces.
Because the projects are in the highway business zoning district, they required special permits, which Beckley said is a normal procedure. Northampton Street is part of Route 10, a state highway.
The next meeting of the Planning Board will take place Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the Municipal Building.