Pittsfield ZBA Postpones Permits For Poultry, Porch & Poster

Jenny Greenfeld asked he board for a continuance on the special permit request to raise four chickens on her property.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Just three months after denying a permit for a resident to raise chickens in their back yards, the Zoning Board of Appeals will rule on yet another.

Jenny Greenfeld and Bob Lezberg have applied for a special permit to raise four chickens on their Caratina Drive property. The permit was expected to go in front of the ZBA on Wednesday, but Greenfeld asked and received a continuance until the June 15 meeting.

Wednesday's meeting featured multiple continuances, partly because there were only four members present — meaning the special permit or variance approval need a unanimous vote.

This was particularly important for the chickens permit because the board has previously been divided on the issue. That previous permit fell one short of the needed votes.

Also continued on Wednesday was an application from Pauline Zervas to reconstruct a porch in the rear of her Benedict Road Property property. The issue with that is the porch would be taller than the previous — providing exits on the second floor — while still being only 6.5 feet away from the property line.

Ignacio Matos, whose mother lives next door to Zervas, said the proposed porch poses a privacy concern. The second floor porches would overlook the next-door property.

"It is way close. There is no space in between," he said.

Matos said he is hoping for a compromise with the size of the structure. The side of the three-family building next to his mother's house only houses one family, so a top floor egress is unneeded — therefore so is the upper porch on that side, Matos said.

"We're not looking to completely deny them building anything," Matos said, saying he hopes for a compromise.

John Goerlach, who is building the porch for Zervas, said the upper porch is needed on one side to conform with building codes regarding egress. And the design is to turn windows on the second floor into doors with the porch providing stairs out of the building.

The increased size of the porch triggers a lot coverage issue because it exceeds the 25 percent coverage allowed in the zone. The size is now 32 percent, which is about 3 percent bigger than the previous porch covered.

"The building lots are very small out there," Nate Joyner, permitting coordinator, said of the neighbors who have similar structures on their similarly sized lots.

Builder John Goerlach and Ignacio Matos discuss the plans for the new porch at Pauline Zervas home on Benedict Road.

"This could probably be worked out," said member Esther Bolen.

The third item was a sign permit for 77 East St. That was postponed because member Miriam Maduro said she had a conflict, so there wouldn't be a quorum.

However, the board was able to approve the Pittsfield YMCA's request to add new awning and signs on North Street.

The YMCA needed a permit because the sign ordinance requires awnings to be 10-feet high while their proposal was for 8-feet 7-inches. Moving it up to 10 feet would provide less shade and not fit with the looks of the building, according to Tim Harrigan, who represented the applicant.

Also approved on Wednesday was Joseph and Cynthia Rodger's request to replace a storage shed with a garage on their Waubeek Road property.

The Rodgers had already torn down the storage shed but the new garage wouldn't fit the required setbacks nor the lot coverage requirement.

But, the immediate neighbors attended the meeting in support of their request, saying a garage is perfectly OK with them and is actually preferred.

"This is a 50-foot wide building lot, clearly there is no way to meet the 35 fott setback anyway," said attorney Anthony Doyle, representing the Rodgers.

Overall, the proposed garage won't be any more out of conformity than the storage shed, the board concluded.

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.