PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Regional Planning Commission's Regional Issues Committee brainstormed representation for the county in upcoming housing listening sessions.

"The administration is coming up with what they like to tout is their first housing plan that's been done for Massachusetts, and this is one of a number of various initiatives that they've done over the last several months," Executive Director Thomas Matuszko said.

"But it seems like they are intent upon doing something and taking comments from the different regions across the state and then turning that into policy so here is our chance to really speak up on that."

The Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities and members of the Housing Advisory Council will host multiple listening sessions around the Commonwealth to hear input on the Healey-Driscoll administration's five-year strategic statewide housing plan.

One will be held at Berkshire Community College on May 15 at 2 p.m.

One of Matuszko's biggest concerns is the overall age of the housing stock in Berkshire County.

"And that the various rehab programs that are out there are inadequate and they are too cumbersome to manipulate through," he explained.

"And so I think that there needs to be a greater emphasis not on new housing development only but housing retention and how we can do that in a meaningful way. It's going to be pretty important."

Non-commission member Andrew Groff, Williamstown's community developer director, added that the bureaucracies need to coordinate themselves and "stop creating well-intended policies like the new energy code that actually work against all of this other stuff."