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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North County Education Study Preparing to Survey Communities

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
11:30AM / Wednesday, September 02, 2026

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The North Berkshire Educational Sustainability Study is looking for input from residents about what is working — and what is not — in the four districts participating in the study.

At its August meeting, the Steering Committee reviewed questions in an online survey that consultants from Berkshire Educational Resources K12 hope to make live before the end of the month.

The survey, which will take about eight to 10 minutes to complete, includes multiple choice questions about residents' experiences with and impressions of the region's public schools with the opportunity to give open-ended responses.

Data collected will help BERK12, the consultant, drive a yearlong conversation with stakeholders and develop recommendations to be included in a final report that will be issued in June.

BERK12's Brendan Sheran, who took the lead on developing the survey, pointed to one example of how survey results can inform the conversations that will feed into that report.

"To what extent do you agree or disagree with statements about how the schools prepare students for the next step," Sheran said, explaining that those preparations include academic and social readiness. "If we find people are strongly agreeing the schools are strongly preparing students for the next step, we can ask in focus groups about what the school is doing that does this."

Sheran and BERK12's project director, Jake Eberwein, also talked about how the consultant used a similar survey in a sustainability study for the Mohawk Trail and Hawlemont school districts and the eight Franklin County towns they cover.

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