image description
Permitting Coordinator Nate Joyner asked the Community Development Board to sponsor the petition to the City Council for changes to the ordinance.

Pittsfield Considers Capping Marijuana Establishments at 10

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
Print Story | Email Story
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city is considering capping the number of marijuana retailers at 10.
 
The Department of Community Development has proposed zoning regulations to guide where an establishment can go. Those regulations would cap the number of retailers at 10, three more than the required minimum.
 
"The state licensing process will be measured at first so I don't think we'd be running into that cap too early," said Permitting Coordinator Nate Joyner.
 
Joyner said the state requires an equal number of retailers as the number of package store liquor licenses — which is seven in Pittsfield. He said there are already three medical marijuana permits issued. Those two factors added together is how the department decided on 10.
 
He added that based on the ratio of establishments in California, 10 is on par for a community of Pittsfield's size. However, he added that Colorado's ratios are significantly higher so there is a range.
 
City Planner CJ Hoss said the cap is self-imposed and if the city does hit it, the department would bring that information to the board for further discussion about raising it. 
 
The Community Development Board will sponsor the ordinance change, which will require a public hearing and City Council approval. The board agreed to start that process Tuesday night.
 
The city already has medical marijuana ordinances in place. However, with the approval of recreational marijuana, the city is updating those regulations. Joyner said the proposal essentially deletes the medical marijuana ordinance and replaces it with a new one since both medical and recreational will be guided by the state's Cannabis Control Commission. 
 
Pittsfield will allow the four land use categories — cultivation, retail, testing and laboratory, and manufacturing and process. The proposal also adds a category for outdoor marijuana among the agricultural uses. 
 
Joyner said the establishments would require a special permit in the commercial and industrial zones. 
 
The changes also align the language with the terms the state is using to guide the industry. The Cannabis Control Commission is tasked with promulgating the regulations by March 15. Permits will be issued shortly after and in July retailers can begin selling. 
 
The industry will be heavily controlled by the state, giving little responsibility to the cities and towns. However, communities do have the ability to control and limit where the establishments open.
 
The Health Department last week said it is watching the regulations, mostly to keep an eye on any setbacks proposed either by the city or state. The department wants to make sure the establishments aren't too close to schools and parks.

Tags: marijuana,   ordinances,   zoning,   

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

EPA Lays Out Draft Plan for PCB Remediation in Pittsfield

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Ward 4 Councilor James Conant requested the meeting be held at Herberg Middle School as his ward will be most affected. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — U.S. The Environmental Protection Agency and General Electric have a preliminary plan to remediate polychlorinated biphenyls from the city's Rest of River stretch by 2032.

"We're going to implement the remedy, move on, and in five years we can be done with the majority of the issues in Pittsfield," Project Manager Dean Tagliaferro said during a hearing on Wednesday.

"The goal is to restore the (Housatonic) river, make the river an asset. Right now, it's a liability."

The PCB-polluted "Rest of River" stretches nearly 125 miles from the confluence of the East and West Branches of the river in Pittsfield to the end of Reach 16 just before Long Island Sound in Connecticut.  The city's five-mile reach, 5A, goes from the confluence to the wastewater treatment plant and includes river channels, banks, backwaters, and 325 acres of floodplains.

The event was held at Herberg Middle School, as Ward 4 Councilor James Conant wanted to ensure that the residents who will be most affected by the cleanup didn't have to travel far.

Conant emphasized that "nothing is set in actual stone" and it will not be solidified for many months.

In February 2020, the Rest of River settlement agreement that outlines the continued cleanup was signed by the U.S. EPA, GE, the state, the city of Pittsfield, the towns of Lenox, Lee, Stockbridge, Great Barrington, and Sheffield, and other interested parties.

Remediation has been in progress since the 1970s, including 27 cleanups. The remedy settled in 2020 includes the removal of one million cubic yards of contaminated sediment and floodplain soils, an 89 percent reduction of downstream transport of PCBs, an upland disposal facility located near Woods Pond (which has been contested by Southern Berkshire residents) as well as offsite disposal, and the removal of two dams.

The estimated cost is about $576 million and will take about 13 years to complete once construction begins.

View Full Story

More Pittsfield Stories