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Engineer Brent White, of White Engineering, provided an overview of the project to the Community Development Board on Monday.

Outdoor Marijuana Grow Moves One Step Further In Pittsfield Permitting

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — EOS Farms LLC. is one step closer toward creating a large outdoor grow operation for marijuana products.
 
The company, headed by Suehiko Ono, is planning to lease 12 acres of farmland near 973 Barker Road to grow the plant. The company has already received local permits to transform the former Royal Cleaners on Tyler Street into a marijuana retailer and manufacturing operation. The growing will provide the product to that operation.
 
EOS received a blessing from the Community Development Board Monday night for the operations. According to Engineer Brent White, the location is already mostly hidden from public view and will be using the existing tree lines to shield the operation from view.
 
In total, the company plans to grow up to 100,000 square feet of marijuana canopy, amounting to about two acres of use in total.
 
"We are really trying to space it out," White said of the growth plans.
 
The company is in partnership with the local farm owners Ann Archey and David Halley, who attended Monday's meeting in support, in the business. 
 
White said the Christmas tree farm on the property will be untouched. The farm road will be expanded to 12 feet and two fields on the property will be used for the various plants.
 
"It is very low-impact use," White said.v"It is an existing farm field, it will remain a farm field."
 
White said one building will be construction but the property for the operation but the property won't be lit other than a light at the gate for security. The area of the operation will be completely fenced in per regulations by the state.
 
The company did have a meeting with neighbors and White said the biggest concern is with odor. He said the operation produces less odor than an indoor grow because the exhaust isn't being pumped out through one area all at once.
 
However, he said the operation is designed so that odor that is emanated more than likely drifts away from neighborhoods and over a nearby pond.
 
"That's something we are very cognizant of," Ono added. "The hope is to approach that in the most reasonable way."
 
The company still need a special permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals. If approved there, both operations - at Royal Cleaners and Barker Road - will be submitted to the state for permitting there. 
 
Ono said he hopes to have state permits in place fairly quickly and start working on properties before the winter.
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MassDOT Project Will Affect Traffic Near BMC

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Prepare for traffic impacts around Berkshire Medical Center through May for a state Department of Transportation project to improve situations and intersections on North Street and First Street.

Because of this, traffic will be reduced to one lane of travel on First Street (U.S. Route 7) and North Street between Burbank Street and Abbott Street from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday through at least May 6.

BMC and Medical Arts Complex parking areas remain open and detours may be in place at certain times. The city will provide additional updates on changes to traffic patterns in the area as construction progresses.

The project has been a few years in the making, with a public hearing dating back to 2021. It aims to increase safety for all modes of transportation and improve intersection operation.

It consists of intersection widening and signalization improvements at First and Tyler streets, the conversion of North Street between Tyler and Stoddard Avenue to serve one-way southbound traffic only, intersection improvements at Charles Street and North Street, intersection improvements at Springside Avenue and North Street, and the construction of a roundabout at the intersection of First Street, North Street, Stoddard Avenue, and the Berkshire Medical Center entrance.

Work also includes the construction of 5-foot bike lanes and 5-foot sidewalks with ADA-compliant curb ramps.  

Last year, the City Council approved multiple orders for the state project: five orders of takings for intersection and signal improvements at First Street and North Street. 

The total amount identified for permanent and temporary takings is $397,200, with $200,000 allocated by the council and the additional monies coming from carryover Chapter 90 funding. The state Transportation Improvement Plan is paying for the project and the city is responsible for 20 percent of the design cost and rights-of-way takings.

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