AMHERST — A five-story, 68-unit project is ready to break ground at 47 Olympia Drive, which when complete will provide another housing option for local college students.

Archipelago Investments LLC of Amherst this week received approval for both the lighting and planting plans for the 230-bed development that will be exclusively marketed to students. The dorm-like building will rise on the former site of the Iota Beta chapter of Chi Omega sorority, acquired by Archipelago nearly four years ago.

The building will be situated next to 57 Olympia, a 236-bed building that opened in the fall of 2016. There will be limited on-site parking, with those living there mostly having to make their own parking arrangements, although large University of Massachusetts parking lots are nearby.

To get the building permit, following Planning Board approvals in late 2022, Archipelago had to present a planting plan showing quantities of each plant, along with a lighting plan, with Archipelago principal Kyle Wilson explaining that lights will be on bollards in the courtyard where residents will enter the building.

Wilson said all power to the building will run underground.

Planners voted unanimously to approve the submissions as satisfying conditions of the previously approved site plans.

Also situated on Olympia Drive is the 42-home Olympia Oaks affordable housing project.

Zoning changes

The Planning Board also continued discussions on an overlay district on University Drive to encourage more housing development, with mixed-use and apartment buildings up to six stories. Much of the conversation focused on whether the overlay should encompass the shopping plaza with a Big Y supermarket. The Town Council, which referred the rezoning back to the Planning Board, raised concerns about developers possibly finding more value in housing than a shopping center, and losing an important retail site. The board will resume discussion of the overlay district at its Dec. 4 meeting.

A draft accessory dwelling units bylaw, to bring the town into compliance with recently enacted state legislation, was presented by Senior Planner Nate Malloy. This allows one accessory dwelling unit per property, with standards and conditions.

With concern that Amherst will be ripe for many accessory dwellings that could meet the demand for student housing, Planning Board member Jesse Mager said it might be good to limit the size of such dwellings.

Planning Board member Fred Hartwell said his major concern with the state legislation is the loss of the owner occupancy requirement for accessory dwellings, which has been in Amherst’s bylaw.

“In Amherst, that emasculates the best way to regulate antisocial behavior, shall we say, in these applications,” Hartwell said. “Now owner occupancy is gone.”

He suggested replacing it with a definition of student home. Under that definition, Amherst might be able to require an adult to be present at any property with an accessory dwelling, meaning around the clock supervision.

“I’m wondering if this is an approach we could take here that would maybe go a long way to address the negatives that are huge in the town of Amherst,” Hartwell said.

Malloy said it could be deemed unreasonable regulation by state officials, and enforcement could be challenging as well.

“I think it could be a way to do it, (but) I’m not sure if it would work if we really can’t confirm if a student home is or is not on a property,” Malloy said.

Planning Board member Karin Winter said investors will make more profit in Amherst because they can rent to more people with more accessory dwelling units.

Working on a definition of a student home could help the town maintain a handle on neighborhood disruptions, Winter said: “Even if it doesn’t work, it’s better than nothing,” Winter said.

In the long run, Winter said the town will have to think about ways to get families to better compete in the marketplace for homes, perhaps through a different property tax system.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.