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Eric Percy told the ZBA that he intends to raise six chickens on his land.

Pittsfield ZBA Approves Furniture Store, Hotel Signs, Chickens, Office Space

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
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The ZBA approved three special permits and one sign exception on Wednesday.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Zoning Board of Appeals gave the OK for a couple to turn the former Liberty Tax building into a furniture store.
 
Michael and Deborah Beligni were approved on Wednesday night to alter the use of the property from a business office to retail.
 
The change is required because the south side of Elm Street, where the property sits, is zoned for residential use and only a special permit allows the commercial use.
 
"It is a very far cry from an exclusively residential area," said attorney Katherine Chester, who represented the Belignis, as she cited a car wash, restaurant, and other stores across the street from 118 Elm St.
 
The couple bought the property last July for $83,000 from John Valli. It was used as a tax office on the ground floor and a residential unit upstairs. 
 
The Belignis plan to keep the upstairs apartment and don't expect the retail to be detrimental to the area. The plan is to sell new and used furniture and home goods. They have 11 off-street parking spaces and won't be receiving many deliveries — and none from large tractor trailers.
 
"This would be a use that will have almost no impact on traffic," Chester said. 
 
The ZBA did, however, worry about the business being open at night, when the surroundings one are closed. ZBA member John Fitzgerald added a condition that the store be closed by 5 p.m. Chester said the store is eyed to be open from 10 a.m. until 4 or 5 p.m. during the week and only for a half day or so on Saturdays,
 
"I think it is a good use for the property," said ZBA member Thomas Goggins.
 
On the northwestern side of the city, the board gave resident Eric Percy approval to keep six chickens on his Berkley Street property. The land is a large parcel on an unaccepted paper street off Wilson Street.
 
Percy has been raising chickens for some seven months without the special permit needed. A neighbor had complained that he had a rooster and the building inspector found the chickens. 
 
Percy told the board that he has only six chickens and no rooster, the feed is secured, and the waste is disposed of properly. No neighbors attended the hearing to oppose the plan and the board said the land is large enough that it won't cause problems with neighbors.
 
"There is a review so if the neighbors have any problems, they can complain to the Board of Health and it will be our jurisdiction again," Fitzgerald said. 
 
The city set guidelines on backyard poultry in 2012 after a rise in the activity. Since then, the Zoning Board of Appeals has handled multiple permit requests, some approved and others denied.
 
On Wednesday, the board also approved the owners of the April Lane housing project to construct an office and the handicapped parking spaces to accommodate it. The entire housing project is set to be rehabilitated using private and government funds.
 
"This project is in need of this infusion of capital and management," said attorney Donald Dubendorf. "We've enjoyed a lot of support from City Hall."
 
There are more than 100 units in the low-income housing project but there is no office for management. The property was built out before zoning regulations eliminated that type of project so a special permit is needed to alter the existing layout. 
 
The board was in favor of not only granting the special permit to add an office but the project as a whole. Board member Esther Bolan said a management office for such a property is needed "now more than ever" and was supportive of the addition.
 
"The project as a whole is worthwhile," Goggins said.
 
Lastly on Wednesday, the board issued an exception for Hotel on North's compliance with sign regulations. The company is requesting more than five signs and one more than 8-feet 6-inches above grade. 
 
"The signage is attractive. It is unintrustive," said attorney Michelle Butler. 
 
The boutique hotel is currently under construction and will feature a hotel, bar, and restaurant. To help identify the location of those different businesses, which will be operated independently, the building owners say they need many signs. Additionally, the company is planning two overhanging signs — a marquee in front and and canopy in the rear. 

Tags: new business,   chickens,   signage,   special permit,   ZBA,   

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EPA Lays Out Draft Plan for PCB Remediation in Pittsfield

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Ward 4 Councilor James Conant requested the meeting be held at Herberg Middle School as his ward will be most affected. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — U.S. The Environmental Protection Agency and General Electric have a preliminary plan to remediate polychlorinated biphenyls from the city's Rest of River stretch by 2032.

"We're going to implement the remedy, move on, and in five years we can be done with the majority of the issues in Pittsfield," Project Manager Dean Tagliaferro said during a hearing on Wednesday.

"The goal is to restore the (Housatonic) river, make the river an asset. Right now, it's a liability."

The PCB-polluted "Rest of River" stretches nearly 125 miles from the confluence of the East and West Branches of the river in Pittsfield to the end of Reach 16 just before Long Island Sound in Connecticut.  The city's five-mile reach, 5A, goes from the confluence to the wastewater treatment plant and includes river channels, banks, backwaters, and 325 acres of floodplains.

The event was held at Herberg Middle School, as Ward 4 Councilor James Conant wanted to ensure that the residents who will be most affected by the cleanup didn't have to travel far.

Conant emphasized that "nothing is set in actual stone" and it will not be solidified for many months.

In February 2020, the Rest of River settlement agreement that outlines the continued cleanup was signed by the U.S. EPA, GE, the state, the city of Pittsfield, the towns of Lenox, Lee, Stockbridge, Great Barrington, and Sheffield, and other interested parties.

Remediation has been in progress since the 1970s, including 27 cleanups. The remedy settled in 2020 includes the removal of one million cubic yards of contaminated sediment and floodplain soils, an 89 percent reduction of downstream transport of PCBs, an upland disposal facility located near Woods Pond (which has been contested by Southern Berkshire residents) as well as offsite disposal, and the removal of two dams.

The estimated cost is about $576 million and will take about 13 years to complete once construction begins.

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