Letter: Cannabis Cultivation in Williamstown

Letter to the Editor07:00PM / Tuesday, May 04, 2021Print Story | Email Story

To the Editor:

Williamstown voters will soon be making decisions about cannabis cultivation. After a year of consultation, public forum, debate, site visits and research the Planning Board is proposing changes to the current bylaws that would restrict where and how cannabis can be grown.

The proposed bylaw:

- increases the setback from property lines to 150 ft; today it is 25 ft.
- stipulates a minimum setback from a neighboring residence of 500 ft; today there is none.
- requires fencing to be screened with vegetation or hidden behind topography; today no screening is required.
- requires that all activity (such as tool sheds and storage barns) associated with growing cannabis be inside the fence, and the fence be at least 150 ft from the property line; today no requirement exists.
- disallows large indoor warehouse facilities to be constructed in rural Williamstown; today they could be built.
- requires 25 percent on-site renewable energy and a waste management plan for resource intensive indoor facilities; today no such requirements exist.

- stipulates that the best available technology be used to limit odor and gives the ZBA the ability to hire a consultant for assistance in reviewing permits at the applicant’s expense.

The proposal does not change the size of the allowable canopy for a licensee (2.3 acres), but it does add a restriction that a landowner can’t exceed that maximum by leasing to multiple licensees on a single property.
In short, the proposed bylaw doesn’t lessen current restrictions. It increases protections to residences yet provides sufficient economic opportunity for farmers. It's a balanced approach.
If you would like to support farmers and protect farmland, but you want to minimize the potential impacts of cannabis cultivation, vote yes.

For more information, visit the Town of Williamstown website or contact the Planning Board at planningboard@williamstownma.gov.

Stephanie Boyd
Boyd is chair of the Williamstown Planning Board.

Tags: marijuana, Planning Board,

iBerkshires.com Text Ads

Now's the time...

to harvest value from your home. Click for more details about a HELOC. Insured by NCUA.

www.greylock.org

rk MILES Blding Materials

Are You Ready to Update Your Home? Start With rk MILES. 4 Locations (800)670-7433

www.rkmiles.com

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Mount Greylock School Committee Sets 2026-27 Agenda

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
11:50AM / Friday, September 04, 2026

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Mount Greylock School Committee last month laid out its priorities for the next year while acknowledging three members of the seven-person panel may be gone by November.

In a special in-person meeting at the middle-high school on a Saturday morning in August, the School Committee finalized its goals for the academic year ahead.

The four-hour meeting was attended by six of the committee's seven members, including three who face challengers in the Nov. 3 election.

The committee ended up agreeing on five goals to set for 2026-27: setting regular meetings and getting regular reports from its Outcomes Subcommittee; improving community outreach by the full committee; implementing a committee member orientation plan for the at least one new member who will be elected in the fall; advancing a district-wide "visions and values" process; and aligning the committee's practice with state requirements for a student representative.

Before the group got into goal-setting, it reviewed the results of a self-evaluation process it undertook for the previous academic year.

Members noted that in 38 areas outlined by the Massachusetts Association of School Committees, the seven Mount Greylock members rated its own performance as below satisfactory in just seven. And it was those areas that are addressed in the goals for 2026-27.

The MASC has five different subcategories headed "community engagement," and the MGRSC members rated themselves between 2.9 and 3.3 on a scale of 1 to 4 in three of the five. The lowest score in the self-evaluation was for the topic of "Community Engagement - Building Support" with an aggregate score of 2.86 and two of the seven members giving the panel a score of 2 in the wake of a budget season when one of the district's two towns chose to amend the district's budget on the floor of its town meeting.

View Full Story