Citizens Petition Calls for Vote on Williamstown Land

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The debate over the use of the so-called Lowry property for affordable housing took another turn on Monday night with the submission of a citizens' petition calling for a special election to determine the land's fate.

Sarah Thurston of Stratton Road and Robert Scerbo of Longview Terrace, representing a larger group, presented the petition to the Selectmen with 312 signatures, 100 more than needed, to allow voters to decide whether to put Lowry and the Burbank farm into restrictive conservation by balloting.

Both lands are owned by the town and were placed under the jurisdiction of the Conservation Commission by town meeting in 1987. Both properties have been considered locations for affordable housing, particularly the easily accessible 30-acre Lowry property on Stratton Road. The majority of the 139-acre Burbank property is on the opposite side of Stratton and south of Longview Terrace.

The town is in line for a $6.25 million grant federal grant to buy the Spruces Mobile Home Park and develop affordable housing to replace it on a third of the Lowry land.

The consideration of those lands prompted the formation of a group, Friends of Williamstown Conserved Lands, and calls for the preservation of open space. Thurston said later in an email that there was a feeling that the process for the grant and park purchase had not been transparent enough and the conversation "very one-sided in favor of using conservation land for development" without taking into account its benefits to the community.

The petition drive began about two weeks ago when it was learned that it would take votes by the Conservation Commission, the Selectmen and town meeting — not the Legislature — to develop the land.

The Lowry land had been purchased in the 1950s as a possible location for Mount Greylock Regional High School. It is currently being hayed by a local farmer. The Burbank land was acquired for back taxes in 1950; the family that had been farming the land continues to do so.

Many of those opposed are abutters but Thurston, on presenting the petition, said the signatures represented "a geographically diverse group of concerned citizens."

For Selectman Tom Costley, the meeting was the right time for the board to engage in a debate over an issue that has been fomenting for months.

"People are questioning the need for affordable housing," he said, adding that he had been quizzed at a recent cocktail party and didn't have the answers.

"The affordable housing we create is for a very large area," said Scerbo. "The affordable housing we're talking about is subsidized housing."

The town should be looking strategically ahead to what units were coming on the market that could become affordable housing, he said, even if it was one unit at a time.

"I think what's pretty clear at that approach we will never ever get to the Lowry property," said Fohlin, adding that separated apartments "totally ignores any sensitivity to the people living at the Spruces who want a sense of community."

Selectman Thomas Sheldon said there was a lot of confusion and misinformation and a need for leadership — and more "cross-pollination and speaking over the fences."

Despite the town's prior support of funding for affordable housing, Costley thought its commitment was shallow.

"When 89 percent [of the town] is not buildable and we're having a discussion about this ... It's not Lowry, it's us," he said.

"I think it's fear of the unknown and a lot of preconceived notions about what we're talking about," said Fohlin. The goal was to give people who make $30,000 a year a place to live. He pointed out that Haleyville had basically been an affordable housing development for GIs returning after the war that has since been completely transformed.

Thurston and Scerbo said a special town meeting would allow a full discussion of the matter, rather than being one article among many on the annual town meeting warrant.

"I don't think affordable housing and conservation have to be on two separate sides of the equation," said Thurston. "I think they can work together ... We should be not be seen as not supporting affordable housing."

More on the debate over land and housing can be found here.

Williamstown Yarn Store Bringing the Hobby Closer to Home

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
05:13AM / Monday, June 15, 2026

Gather sources some of its yarn from regional producers. 

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — If you knit, crochet, or want to pick up a new hobby with yarn, a new space is open to get your supplies.

On March 18, owners and friends Ashley Cart and Geraldine Shen opened Gather on Spring Street.

The two teach knitting classes at Williams College and thought it would be great to bring their hobby to life.

"We have always been avid knitters, and we've spent a lot of time together doing that, and find it to be for ourselves like this really wonderfully calming hobby," Shen said.

Shen said they see many people starting to take up the hobby and thought it would be great to open in location convenient for students and to give them a space to curate their work.

"We're finding a lot of interest amongst people to learn how to knit. Young people who want to get off their screens, find something that they can do with their hands, and so we have always talked about, like, wouldn't it be cool to one day do this," Shen said.

Shen said there aren't many options to buy yarn in the area, and often they're a long drive away. While they opened an online shop before finding a storefront, they recognized that for some knitters buying, online was not ideal.

"Yarn is one of those things that you do, at least the first time, want to see it in person, and like touch it, and look at it against your skin, or you know, color combinations, if you knit or crochet, just like to squeeze the yarn, and feel how squishy and soft it is, and so it is one of those things that you can't just easily buy online," she said.

Their new space is at 57 Spring St. on the third floor. An elevator at the Bank Street entrance can be taken straight to their door, it is especially readily accessible to the college students.

"We've sort of been working with Williams students, and we wanted to be accessible to them, because we really feel as though there's a renewed interest in this craft from younger folks, and that it can be a really good thing for them, and so we wanted to make it easy for Williams students to access the store, and they don't all have cars, they don't all leave campus much, so being on Spring Street was important to us," Shen said.

The store offers a variety of yarn and supplies, and a sit and stitch room where anyone can come in and hang out and work on their projects with others.

They buy yarn from local producers and offer other products as well.

"When people come through, like tourists and stuff, often they ask us what can you get here that you can't get anywhere else," said Shen. "So we have some yarns from local farms, we have some handspun by a local artist who's based in Lanesborough, we've got yarn from this woman who dyes it up in Brattleboro [Vt.], and so we're trying to highlight some of the really cool farms that we have around here."

One of the main opportunities they hope to expand on is being able to go into schools and teach children how to knit. They recently were awarded a grant to teach WIlliamstown Elementary School  fourth graders how to knit. Each child was able to make a square and Shen and Cart put all of the squares together and it is now hanging in their space when you walk in.

"We want to go into more schools and teach kids how to knit, because there's some really cool research that talks about, like, the benefits of teaching younger children how to knit. It helps them concentrate, it helps them calm down, and gives them a sense of accomplishment," Shen said.