Pittsfield Board Approves Credit For Controversial Development

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — After heated debate and conflicting legal opinions, the Community Development Board voted Tuesday to issue a letter of credit on the remaining bond for a controversial development project that includes three unaccepted streets off Williams Street and Leona Drive.

Yola Esther Development says it has completed the subdivision, which includes Kara and Giovina Streets and Karen Drive, to the terms stipulated in the bond agreement.

But opponents — including City Engineer Matthew Billetter, Ward 4 City Councilor Chris Connell, and Commission on Disabilities Chairwoman June Hailer — said the streets should not be considered complete until several issues, including a lack of compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, are resolved.

Those changes, they say, could cost the city more than $200,000 if it has to take on those expense for them to become accepted public streets.

"I would implore you not to recommend this development for acceptance or to produce a letter of credit," Billetter told the board. "If the city were to accept this development I think it sends a terrible message that we're not concerned with the needs of the disabled community, and that we're willing to spend taxpayer money."

Billetter further affirmed statements by Hailer that as far back as meetings with the developer's engineer and "made it very clear that the sidewalks needed to be ADA compliant."

The Yola Esther Development project has been ongoing in phases since the property was first purchased in 2003. In July 2012, the city placed the performance bond in place to insure the completion of the streets, which at that time were promised to be completed by the end of that year. In May 2014, the Community Development Board expressed frustration that the project still had not been completed.

Board member David Hathaway was adamant that only conditions explicitly in the performance guarantee for the letter of credit could be considered, and that the Department of Public Works had failed to bring forth its concerns within a 45-day period from the developer's request for hearing on the issue.

"Unfortunately, the performance guarantee does not relate to the ADA issue, that's between the developers and the city of Pittsfield," he said. "If it's not included in the performance guarantee then it is outside the scope of this board."

Hathaway blasted staff for not bringing forward information about these concerns sooner.

"This has to stop!" Hathaway insisted. "We have to tighten things up, and get back to the way we used to do things."

Connell, within whose ward the development falls, urged the board not to approve the credit and to schedule a site visit to look at the concerns being raised for themselves.

"Look at Karen Drive — ADA compliant or not, that's not complete," said Connell.

City Planner Cornelius Hoss added that the 45-day period is not an absolute, to which City Solicitor Kathleen Degnan concurred.

"Determining whether it's complete is certainly within your jurisdiction," Degnan told the board, seconding Connell's suggestion of a site visit.

Attorney Thomas Hamel, representing Yola Esther principal developer Joseph Kroboth, strongly disagreed, saying the 45-day timeline is binding, and that the board was obligated to issue the credit based on the terms in the performance guarantee.

"This isn't a zoning issue, this isn't a handicapped accessibility issue. It's a subdivision issue," said Hamel. "There is no leeway."

He rejected the estimates for remaining street and sidewalk work remaining to be done as part of the Yola Esther project.

Finally, Hamel said, if the board did not grant the letter of credit, they would appeal to the city clerk to issue it without the board's  approval as a legal recourse.

"It doesn't matter if the city said [in the performance guarantee] 'You have to meet the ADA regulations,'" countered Billetter. "That's federal law."

"The projects are not complete, compliant or not," said Hailer. "It's going to cost the city a lot of money, and the taxpayers a lot of money."

The board voted 7-1 to issue the letter of credit for what remains of the bond, with Chairwoman Sheila Irvin voting opposed.

Pittsfield Holds Second Master Plan Workshop

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:43PM / Wednesday, April 01, 2026

Participants added notes to the sectors — such as transportation, open space and neighborhoods — being reviewed by the Master Plan Steering Committee. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass.— The city is about halfway through developing its new master plan, and held a second community workshop this past Thursday. 

"Basically, we're talking to people from Pittsfield and trying to figure out, among a broad sector of issues that affect us, what is our goal and vision for the next 10 years, where we want Pittsfield to be in 10 years, and what changes do we want to see?" Director of Community Development Justine Dodds explained to about 20 community members and city staff at Conte Community School. 

"That will be broken down into some goals and objectives and then some measurable action items that we can all take as a community to move that forward."  

The Pittsfield Master Plan is the policy guide for future physical development, covering land use, infrastructure, sustainability, and more. The plan was last updated in 2009, and Pittsfield has engaged the VHB engineering firm and CommunityScale consultants to bring it through 2036. 

There have been two public listening sessions, a Master Plan Advisory Committee guiding the work, and small focus groups for each section. On poster boards, residents were able to see and mark the draft goals and actions under six themes: economic development, housing opportunities, transportation and infrastructure, environment and open space, neighborhoods and community, and governance and collaboration. 

In November 2025, community members participated in a similar exercise at City Hall. 

Transportation and infrastructure had several notes on them. Suggestions included using infrastructure to address the urban heat island effect, a light rail system, and continuing to implement Complete Streets standards for roadway construction projects. 

"I want to ride my bike to my friend's house safely," one respondent wrote. 

Under economic development, people suggested digital business infrastructure for the downtown, food hall opportunities, and nightlife opportunities.