PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Zoning Board of Appeals continued a hearing by request of the applicant True East Leaf.
The brief meeting on Wednesday was to act on the request of proposed indoor marijuana cultivators who asked to continue the hearing until February.
"This has been continued for several months at this point," Chairman Albert Ingegni III noted.
True East Leaf looks to operate at 161 Seymour St. and is seeking a special permit to do this. However, according to Permitting Coordinator Nate Joyner, the owners have to put some finishing touches on some design work.
Joyner said other than that, they had no more correspondence on the project.
"We have not received anything else or any other comments on that," Joyner said.
The Community Development Board gave True East Leaf the go-ahead last year. It did waive a city parking requirement but included in its recommendation to the Zoning Board of Appeals that the permit only be given if True East Leaf can square away its lack of parking and designate off-street parking for employees.
The ZBA also heard from True East Leaf in September and although the cultivator's attorney said they solved the parking issue, the board aired its own concerns about parking congestion in the area and possible order and its effect on surrounding businesses.
This was also a concern of area restaurant Tahiti Take-Out.
That hearing was also continued.
Board member John Fitzgerald also pointed out that True East Leaf has asked for multiple continuations. He said as far as his vote, this will be the last one he will allow.
"This has gone on for several months," he said. "I think in my opinion this would be the last chance because we have given them plenty of time."
The meeting lasted under five minutes and the next meeting was scheduled for Feb. 19.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.
Your Comments
iBerkshires.com welcomes critical, respectful dialogue. Name-calling, personal attacks, libel, slander or foul language is not allowed. All comments are reviewed before posting and will be deleted or edited as necessary.
No Comments
Pittsfield Wants People to Know Where Free Public Wifi Is
By Brittany PolitoiBerkhshires Staff
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city wants it to be clear where people can connect to free public wifi— which expands beyond downtown.
On Tuesday, the Parks Commission approved "Free Wifi" signage at The Common, Riverway Park, and Durant Park. Community members can access the internet without charge in these locations, as well as in downtown areas.
Two years ago, Pittsfield received a $99,972 Digital Equity Implementation Grant from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. This allowed the city to take a comprehensive look at digital equity and determine where to focus attention.
"That was a lengthy process that we worked on, and there was a lot of public input. We did some surveying. We met with a lot of focus groups; [Berkshire Regional Planning Commission] was the group that spearheaded that for us, and one of the things that came up was the lack of accessible wifi," Director of Community Development Justine Dodds reported. "Particularly in the westside."
Throughout this process, residents also wanted to see connectivity at the nearby Westside Riverway Park.
In 2023, Pittsfield was selected to participate in the Municipal Digital Equity Planning Program launched by the state and MBI, focused on ensuring residents can use the internet to conduct day-to-day activities. A digital equity plan also qualifies Pittsfield for additional grant funding.
Around 16,000 city households qualified for the Federal Communications Commission's affordable internet program that ended in 2024.
Dodds said adding Wi-FI and signage to Durant and Riverway Parks is a small piece of the larger digital equity project. Signage is already downtown, and the city plans to hire the same designer for the expanded wayfinding so it is cohesive.
Hoosac Valley High School has postponed this weekend’s football games following a reported alleged hazing incident involving a large number of football players, the athletic director announced Friday afternoon. click for more
Fueling excitement around the World Cup, U.S. Soccer worked with the Massachusetts Youth Soccer League to make these facilities available to 20 communities click for more
The shelter has six guinea pigs that are about a month old. They are each named after a rock: Slate, Lava, Igneous, Pumice, Granite, Limestone.
click for more
Rubinstein, who turns 80 in December, has been crisscrossing the country, doing the show for the past four years: "I can't wait to do it again and again and again," he said. "It's one of the great crowning pieces of luck of my career."
click for more