Letter: Williamstown Shouldn't Rush Zoning Changes

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To the Editor:

To Members of the Select Board and the Planning Board of Williamstown,

I have been a resident of Williamstown since 1971 and the owner of residential property in town. I am concerned about the process going through your committees to consider zoning changes in this town.

The process is rushing to put these changes in the next warrant articles, to be voted on in the next town meeting. This is unfair to town residents, who need more time to learn about and consider these proposed changes — few residents are even aware of their existence.


Most importantly, the town has hired a consultant for a new comprehensive plan for the town and Berkshire Regional Planning Commission is in the process of conducting a housing needs assessment for Berkshire County. Until these two reports have been completed, it makes no sense to ask us to vote on changes in zoning ordinances.

Thank you for your vigilance in ensuring that we voters get all the information and consultation we need to vote responsibly on proposed zoning changes in Williamstown.

Sincerely,

Tela Zasloff
Williamstown, Mass.

 

 

 


Tags: zoning,   

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Williamstown Select Board Finalizes Property Tax Relief Measure for Town Meeting

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Select Board last week finalized a request to town meeting to change the parameters of a property tax relief program for residents aged 60 and over.
 
At last year's annual town meeting, members approved a proposal to lower the age of eligibility from 65 to 60 for the 41C senior exemption, which gives eligible residents a break of $1,000 on their property tax bills.
 
In order to open the program to more residents, the Select Board this year wants voters to okay increases to the income limit and asset limit for eligibility.
 
Currently in town, the income limits are $21,846 for a single person and $32,769 for a married couple. The asset maximums are $43,692 for a single person and $60,076 for a couple.
 
At its March 9 meeting, the four members of the board agreed those numbers should be raised from the current thresholds but could not agree on where to set the new limit.
 
Peter Beck had volunteered to come back to the March 23 session with some proposals based on his research. He reported last Monday that after looking at other income- and asset-restricted programs at the state and federal level, he found a variety of limits.
 
"I think all the numbers we were looking at a couple of weeks ago are reasonable," Beck said. "They're all backed up by some kind of program. … I'd propose doubling [Williamstown's income limit] which gets us to about 50 percent of the area median income: $44,000 for a single person, $66,000 for married.
 
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