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 Planning Board Asks for Seasonal Communities Designation, Talks Tiny Homes

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Planning Board this month voted unanimously to recommend that the Select Board ask town meeting to accept the provisions of the provisions of the commonwealth's Seasonal Communities law.
 
If town meeting members agree at the May 19 annual town meeting, the town would have the ability to take steps to allow or create workforce housing, and it would give the town the ability to compete for grants to support year-round housing.
 
The tradeoff is that, under the terms of the Seasonal Communities program, Williamstown would need to enact zoning bylaws that allow the construction of residential housing on undersized lots, provided it is not used as a seasonal home or short-term rental "of less than six months." And the town would be required to enact zoning that permits so-called "tiny houses" of 400 square feet or less in floor area — again, only to be used as year-round housing.
 
The town would have two years to enact the zoning changes through subsequent town meetings while enjoying the benefits of the Seasonal Communities program from Day 1 if adopted at the May meeting.
 
The Legislature enacted the Seasonal Communities program to help communities address housing needs when those municipalities meet certain characteristics, including when "excessive disparities between the area median income and the income required to purchase the municipality's median home price," according to the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (formerly the Department of Housing and Community Development).
 
The Seasonal Communities program initially was targeted at towns on Cape Cod, where the inaccessibility of workforce housing has been a concern for decades. More recently, the EOHLC has designated some towns in Berkshire County as eligible for the Seasonal Communities designation.
 
The Planning Board at its March 10 meeting voted 4-0 (with Cory Campbell absent) to recommend the Select Board agree at its Monday, March 23, meeting to put the Seasonal Communities question on the annual town meeting warrant.
 
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