Letter: Not NIMBY, It's Common Sense

Letter to the Editor02:00PM / Thursday, June 09, 2022Print Story | Email Story

To the Editor:

Here in Williamstown those of us opposed to the former Planning Board's complex and radical zoning changes – because they were dumped on us with no time for review their impacts on our neighborhoods, no supporting documents, and while our Comprehensive Plan is still in the works – are already hearing whispers of NIMBY-ism ahead of our June 14 town meeting. So, I address the whisperers.

NIMBY, or "Not In My Backyard," is credited to Lois Gibbs of Niagara Falls, N.Y. It was her rallying cry for neighbors to oppose Hooker Chemical's dumping of toxic waste in nearby Love Canal. Gibbs declared that "people fighting for their own back yard is what democracy is about."

Of course, developers and industry interests cleverly reversed her meaning for their own financial interests, accusing Gibbs of opposing growth and – incredibly – the selfish preservation of home values. Today, accusations of racism and exclusionary zoning have been added to the list.

But here in Williamstown, those opposing the radical zoning changes are not racists, nor do we want exclusionary zoning. We simply ask our fellow residents to wait a year until our $180,000 Comprehensive Town Plan is complete before approving radical changes. Shouldn't zoning implement our Comprehensive Plan, not the other way around?

Soaring real estate prices are a national problem, but that is not to say Williamstown shouldn't try to lower housing costs while also embracing the principles of smart growth and inclusion. Most of the former Planning Board's radical changes, however, are unlikely to accomplish either. They offer no backup studies, no reports from other towns that tried something similar, no information on the impact on our schools, our property taxes, or most critically, housing affordability.

So, I encourage people to turn out on June 14 to turn down these radical zoning amendments to allow our Comprehensive Planning Team and our new Planning Board to do the hard work of developing zoning that has a chance of bringing housing costs down and increasing diversity in Williamstown. It's not NIMBY; it's just common sense.

Lee Harrison
Williamstown, Mass.

Tags: zoning,

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Williamstown's Milne Library Opens Makerspace on Thursday

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
08:12AM / Sunday, October 25, 2026

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The David and Joyce Milne Public Library still is the best place in town to borrow a book.

But it is getting to the point where the word library itself is inadequate to describe all the Milne has to offer.

On Thursday, the Main Street library will hold a grand opening for Studio 1095, the Milne's new makerspace, where patrons will have access to creative tools ranging from sewing machines to soldering tools to jewelry-making supplies to creative software like Photoshop and Illustrator to green screen capability to a podcast studio.

It marks the latest step in the evolution of the town's library into a full-service community center.

"I think Studio1095 is very much part of that broader evolution," Milne Director Angela Zimmermann said last week. "Libraries are continuing to provide those core services people have always relied on — books, information, technology, research help, and a place for learning — while also becoming places where people can create, connect, explore, and participate in their community, a sort of community creative and learning space.

"The Thingdom and Sensory Space are good examples of that same evolution — both of which just happened at the Milne in the last couple of years. They recognize that a library can meet community needs in ways that go beyond traditional collections. And Studio1095 builds on that idea by giving people access to equipment, technology, creative tools, and opportunities they might not otherwise have access to."

The Thingdom is the Milne's lending center where cardholders can check out such "non-book" items as a fondue pot, a leaf blower, a paper shredder, a snow sled or an electric drum kit.

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