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Lawsuit against Berkshire Aviation Enterprises, town’s ZBA, dropped by plaintiffs

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Great Barrington —  A civil complaint filed by residents against the town’s Zoning Board of Appeals and Berkshire Aviation Enterprises has been dropped. The lawsuit...

THE AIRPORT (Part Eight): The arc of Great Barrington’s zoning history is long. With...

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In the final installment of THE AIRPORT, Bill Shein presents a detailed history of Great Barrington’s zoning bylaw and its key role in the past, present, and still-unknown future of the town’s 92-year-old country airport.

Residents’ case against airport, ZBA, continues to go forward

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A civil complaint against the Zoning Board of Appeals that was filed on May 9, 2022 is continuing in State Land Court in an effort to have the court annul a previous decision by the ZBA in April 2022 to uphold a decision by zoning enforcement officer Edwin May to deny a request from neighbors to enforce the town’s zoning bylaws against the Walter J. Koladza Airport.

THE AIRPORT (Part Six): A noisy debate about more than noise

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The debate over the airport’s level of activity and the noise and disturbance it produces has been contentious for decades. Better information and consistent zoning enforcement would help.

THE AIRPORT (Part Four): Atop a vital aquifer, the airport’s environmental compliance has been...

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The airport sits atop an aquifer that supplies Great Barrington’s water. Over the decades, it has stored as much as 54,000 gallons of petroleum in underground tanks—and for years failed to fully comply with state environmental regulations. It's in a zoning district with strict water-protection rules. Is the town doing enough to monitor its activities?

Large turnout for airport special permit public hearing

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The Great Barrington Selectboard decided to extend the public hearing that was held Monday, Feb. 27 on a special permit application submitted by the owners of the Walter J. Koladza Airport to Monday, March 13. According to Selectboard Chair Stephen Bannon, the Feb. 27 meeting had "the biggest attendance [he has] ever seen as a selectman," with approximately 420 in attendance.

THE AIRPORT (Part Three): How busy is Great Barrington Airport?

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With its level of operations at issue in court and in front of town boards, why has there been so little effort to document what's actually happening at the airport?

THE AIRPORT (Part Two): Rick Solan’s story begins with Robert Wheeler’s in 1929

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The complicated present of the Great Barrington Airport is deeply rooted in its equally complicated past. Rick Solan had little to do with what happened before 2008, but it’s what threatens his present and future.

W.E.B. Du Bois sculpture project moves forward

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Matching grants from local artist Anne Fredericks and Marc Fasteau have provided a boost in fundraising for the creation of a sculpture of W.E.B. Du Bois in front of the Mason Public Library, which is reportedly receiving great public support.

THE AIRPORT (Part One): It’s not just about aviation

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As Berkshire Aviation Enterprises goes in front of the Great Barrington Selectboard for the third time seeking release from zoning restrictions, a contentious community discussion is again underway. In this in-depth series, Bill Shein examines the issues, people, and history swirling around a small-town airport.

Neighbors take Great Barrington ZBA to court, demand board’s airport decision be reversed

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The civil complaint names each ZBA member individually as defendants. The complainants are not seeking monetary damages but want the court to annul the ZBA's decision, find that the ZBA exceeded its authority, and that its actions were "based on legally untenable grounds."
Koladza Airport Great Barrington

Great Barrington zoning board denies appeal from angry airport neighbors

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At issue is the fact that the Walter J. Koladza Airport is located in a residential zone, but was built just a few years before Great Barrington first adopted a zoning code.

Great Barrington Airport is a community-minded asset

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I have to wonder about the abutters. Build near an airport, live near an airport — you can expect noise. And what can they possibly complain about in remodeling an existing building with the same footprint? 

Berkshire region real estate sales Nov. 22-28, 2020

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The latest weekly report of real estate sales in the Berkshire region of Western Massachusetts and Northwest Connecticut: Nov. 22-28, 2020

Great Barrington airport proposal for six new hangars all but dead

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The lone remaining board member, Chairman Steve Bannon, remained technically neutral, but applications before the selectboard for a special permit need the support of four of the five members of the board.

Hearing on controversial plans to add hangars to airport continued a third time

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The airport was built shortly before the town established its first zoning code in 1931. It is, therefore, a pre-existing nonconforming use in a residential neighborhood, and the site lies in the town’s Water Quality Protection Overlay District next to the Green River.

GB Town Hall Briefs: Of special permits, water and more water

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The board also voted unanimously last month to continue work on an independent appraisal of the value of Housatonic Water Works in the event that the town decides to buy it, either by making an offer or perhaps through something resembling eminent domain.

Great Barrington Airport’s expansion plans unveiled again as wary neighbors watch

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In response to a public outcry, airport officials had scaled back their original proposal and sought to build only three new hangars at the facility west of town on Route 71. Now the airport has returned to its original proposal of six new hangars, while removing the existing clamshell hangar.

BUSINESS BRIEFS: Successful People’s Pantry fundraiser; NPC Breakfast Club; GBHS grant; McReady joins Lever...

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The award will allow Great Barrington Historical Society to address needed repairs to windows in the main farmhouse as well as an entry door and windows in the wagon house addition.

Bits & Bytes: WBCR update; ‘Spring into Reading’; students advocate climate legislation; Mountainside telehealth...

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“Spring into Reading” is the Great Barrington Libraries’ community-wide initiative to help residents whose experience of the COVID-19 pandemic has been coupled with economic and food insecurity.

Amid an atmosphere of mistrust, airport revives plan for more hangars

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The airport proposes to construct six new hangars, while removing the existing clamshell hangar.

Under fire, Great Barrington airport throws in the towel; will pursue alternate route to...

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Lori A. Robbins, the attorney for Berkshire Aviation, stunned the packed selectmen's room when she announced that her client wanted to withdraw its application without prejudice.

EDITORIAL: Time for neighbors to rethink opposition to Great Barrington airport improvement

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As proposed, the airport's plans are entirely reasonable, given its need to remain viable and its history of good citizenship.

Airport officials, opponents spar again during rowdy hearing on expansion plans

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The latest episode saw the public hearing on the airport's quest for three new hangars continued to July 10, but only after the selectboard heard from both sides of the controversial proposal, with noisy airport antagonists drowning out proponents.

Planning Board scrutinizes airport’s plan for new hangars

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The Planning Board decided that it wanted updated renderings and more information on signage and the potential visual impact of the proposed hangars before they voted to approve the site plan. On Monday, June 12, the airport’s application for a special permit will be voted on by the Selectboard.

Airport co-owner surprises everyone: ‘I don’t want a special permit’

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Monday's hearing looked as if it would be a barnburner, with neighboring property owners ready to oppose the airport's proposed addition of three new hangars, and another nearby property owner poised to suggest the airport was responsible for poisoning his drinking water.

Airport owners again seek permission for controversial new hangars

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"There is no discernable evidence leading me to conclude future real property values will be negatively impacted by such an occasion and to assert otherwise is speculation." -- Town Assessor Chris Lamarre

As airport continues permit quest, threat from lead in plane fuel causes concern

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Among other research, the EPA’s findings indicate that where there are small, piston-engine aircraft operating, there is an increase in lead concentrations in air. The FAA says it, along with the EPA, is working to stop the use of lead in the fuel, and backing research to come up with alternatives.

Great Barrington approves amended school funding, finance reform, and affordable housing trust fund

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The amendment won’t change the current headcount formula, but will give Great Barrington a break by using a measurement of a town’s wealth to determine how much it should pay for future capital projects.

Great Barrington Selectboard reviews hotel plan that saves Searles School historic structure

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“It essentially will be the same building with a few modifications — these will go back in time,” and make the renovated Searles “much more historically accurate.” -- Architect Rolph Biggers

Redesigned Berkshire Hotel presented to Great Barrington Selectboard

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The proposed 95-room, upscale hotel on the site of the empty Searles School complex would incorporate the brick facades and outlines of the 116-year-old building.

Proposed hotel at Searles complex would generate $450k in annual taxes, accountants confirm

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The accountant's report will be submitted to the town at the Selectboard’s Wednesday night public hearing to determine whether to issue a special permit that will allow Vijay and Chrystal Mahida and 79 Bridge Street, LLC to demolish most of the Searles school for construction of an upscale hotel, The Berkshire.

95-room hotel in Village Center – a desperate PR campaign

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In her letter to the editor, Sharon Gregory of Great Barrington writes: "We are now seeing a public relations campaign, exaggerating the proposal's benefits and attempting to intimidate people who oppose it."

Letter to Great Barrington Selectboard: Don’t approve 95-room hotel

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In his open letter to the Great Barrington Selectboard, Marc Fasteau writes: "Despite assurances to the contrary from the developer, the project is not viable as a high-end hotel."