Lanesborough OKs Bylaw For Aerial Adventure Parks

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — With a unanimous vote at town meeting, the zoning is in place for an aerial adventure park on Brodie Mountain Road and developers are already hoping to start construction in the summer.

Feronia Forests LLC, formerly Feronia Holdings, has been working with the town for nearly a year to bring in an adventure park. However, zoning bylaws prohibited them from opening on Brodie Mountain Road so the town crafted new bylaws to allow the company to move forward.

Those bylaws were approved at a special town meeting Tuesday.

The special town meeting was paid for by Feronia and the new bylaw is supported by the Board of Selectmen.

The bylaw allows any aerial adventure park to open in the limited business zone with a special permit. The law does require a minimum lot size of 10 acres and that 75 percent of the aerial elements be attached to natural features, not to utility poles or other manmade structures.

The developers are set to move forward with the design phase while they wait until for the attorney general's office to approve the new zoning, which could take up to 90 days, and then go through local permitting. They hope to start building in the summer and open for the fall.

Jonathan Sabin, who represents Feronia, said the group could "realistically" receive a special permit to build and open the park in July as long as there are no hitches.

Feronia is partnering with East Chatham, N.Y.-based Tree-Mendous Parks, which constructed a safari park at the San Diego Zoo, to build what they call a "social and economically friendly" park. Tree-Mendous owner Gerhard Komenda said the attractions will be attached to existing trees without drilling and that trucks will not be driven onto the course to prevent tree damage. The platforms will be made from native woods, he said.

"We will need about four months to build," Komenda said, adding that the construction will take longer because the workers will hike to the site.

Editor's Note: The aerial park is being built near the wind farm access road off Brodie Mountain Road in Lanesborough. There were stories reported in other media about a week after this meeting that used illustrations implying the old Brodie Ski Area was the site of the new park. That is incorrect. The ski area is in New Ashford.

Pittsfield ZBA Member Recognized for 40 Years of Service

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
12:23PM / Thursday, April 25, 2024

Albert Ingegni III tells the council about how his father-in-law, former Mayor Remo Del Gallo who died at age 94 in 2020, enjoyed his many years serving the city and told Ingegni to do the same. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — It's not every day that a citizen is recognized for decades of service to a local board — except for Tuesday.

Albert Ingegni III was applauded for four decades of service on the Zoning Board of Appeals during City Council. Mayor Peter Marchetti presented him with a certificate of thanks for his commitment to the community.

"It's not every day that you get to stand before the City Council in honor of a Pittsfield citizen who has dedicated 40 years of his life serving on a board or commission," he said.

"As we say that, I know that there are many people that want to serve on boards and commissions and this office will take any resume that there is and evaluate each person but tonight, we're here to honor Albert Ingegni."

The honoree is currently chair of the ZBA, which handles applicants who are appealing a decision or asking for a variance.

Ingegni said he was thinking on the ride over about his late father-in-law, former Mayor Remo Del Gallo, who told him to "enjoy every moment of it because it goes really quickly."

"He was right," he said. "Thank you all."

The council accepted $18,000 from the state Department of Conservation and Recreation and a  $310,060 from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Safe Streets and Roads for All program.