The Northeast Association of Realtors will hold a Smart Growth Symposium in conjunction with UMass Lowell at the University's Cumnock Hall on Oct. 18. This free event is being partially funded by a Smart Growth Action Grant awarded to NEAR by the National Assn. of Realtors in Chicago and by a grant from the Mass. Assn. of Realtors in Waltham.
The event will feature discussion about Smart Growth principles, local zoning and land use conflicts, and new approaches to development that are being made available. The keynote speaker will be Thomas Hylton, a Pulitzer Prize winning author and journalist from Pottstown, Pennsylvania, who has been writing about Smart Growth issues for more than 20 years. Other speakers will be:
*George  Proakis, chief planner for the City of Lowell  
*Curt Bellavance, community development director for  the Town of North Andover
*Greg Bialecki, assistant secretary and general counsel  of the executive office of Housing and Economic Development
*Mass. Assn. of Realtors  past president David Wluka of Wluka R.E. in Sharon
*Angus Jennings of Concord  Sq. Development Group
*UMass Lowell chancellor Marty  Meehan
*Professor David Turcotte of the UMass Lowell Center for Family, Work, and Community
*NEAR president Dan Sullivan of Coldwell Banker  Residential Brokerage in Chelmsford
The group hosting the Symposium, the NEAR Smart Growth Task Force, is co-chaired by NEAR president-elect Dennis Page of RE/MAX Prestige and Penny Hamel of JP Morgan Chase, who is also VP of the North East Builders Assoc. Invited guests include municipal officials and staff, state legislators, Smart Growth advocates, R.E. professionals, and those with an interest in the topic. To register or to attend, go to MassNear.com/SmartGrowth.