WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Planning Board on Tuesday agreed in principle to most of the waivers sought by Northern Berkshire Habitat for Humanity to build five homes on a Summer Street parcel.

 

But the planners strongly encouraged the non-profit to continue discussions with neighbors to the would-be subdivision to resolve those residents' concerns about the plan.

 

The developer and the landowner, the town's Affordable Housing Trust, were before the board for the second time seeking an OK for the preliminary subdivision plan. The goal of the preliminary approval process is to allow developers to have a dialogue with the board and stakeholders to identify issues that may come up if and when NBHFH brings a formal subdivision proposal back to the Planning Board.

 

Habitat has identified 11 potential waivers from the town's subdivision bylaw that it would need to build five single-family homes and a short access road from Summer Street to the new quarter-acre lots on the 1.75-acre lot the trust purchased in 2015.

 

Most of the waivers were received positively by the planners in a series of non-binding votes.

 

One, a request for relief from the requirement for granite or concrete monuments at street intersections, was rejected outright on the advice of the town's public works directors.

 

Another, a request to use open drainage to manage stormwater, received what amounted to a conditional approval by the board. The planners noted DPW Director Craig Clough's comment that while open drainage, per se, is not an issue for his department, he advised that said rain gardens not be included in the right of way, which would transfer ownership and maintenance of said gardens to the town.