Great Barrington — At its meeting on Thursday, January 26, the Planning Board recommended to the Selectboard that they should approve a special permit application for the Walter J. Koladza Airport in order to continue its operations.
Board member Jonathan Hankin recused himself from the decision because he is a property abutter to the airport, located at 70 Egremont Plain Rd.
The special permit application, which was filed on January 10, lists that airport owner Berkshire Aviation Enterprises Inc. is looking for a special permit to operate under sections 3.1.4.E, 7.2, and 10.4 of the town’s zoning bylaws. Section 3.1.4.E covers permitted uses in town including “Utilities, communication, and transportation.” Section 7.2 covers aviation fields, while section 10.4 covers special permits.
At the January 26 meeting, attorney Dennis Egan, with law firm Cohen Kinne Valicenti Cook of Great Barrington, represented airport owner Richard Solan and discussed the special permit application with the board. “There is a lawsuit pending in state land court, which on one hand has nothing to do with what we’re here for,” Egan told the board. “On the other hand, it has everything to do with what we’re here for.”
Egan was referring to a group of 20 residents who, last May, took the town’s Zoning Board of Appeals to the state Land Court. The residents are appealing a unanimous vote by the Board to uphold a decision by zoning enforcement officer Edwin May to deny a request from the neighbors of the airport to enforce the town’s zoning bylaw against the airport.
The airport, which has been in operation since September 1931, was built a few years before the town adopted a zoning code. “As a non-conforming use, we don’t need this permit that we are seeking,” Egan said. “In fact, we think we’re confident that we’ll be successful on the merits of that Land Court complaint to which the town is listed as a party. But we’ve essentially voluntarily submitted this permit application. It’s our argument before the Land Court that we’re actually exempt from zoning under Chapter 90, Section 39 of Massachusetts General Laws.”
Egan was referring to a section in General Laws regarding “Aeronautics commission; powers; rules and regulations.” He explained, “We’re essentially submitting voluntarily [the special permit application] for the purposes of seeking a reasonable resolution to this issue. The lawsuit seeks to effectively shut down the airport. We are here to submit to [zoning regulations] and seek the [special permit] with reasonable restrictions, which will at the end of the day, actually put additional restrictions on the airport than [the ones that] currently exist.”
Egan said that the company is not proposing to expand or add hangars to its facility. Back in 2020, the company wanted to add six new hangars to the airport, but eventually, the plan was shut down.
Board Vice-Chair Malcolm Fick said he supported the approval of the special permit. “When [my family] moved to Great Barrington 15 years ago, one of the great things was the existence of an airport,” Fick said. “It makes the town special, and I just don’t understand why the airport wasn’t permitted in the zoning [bylaws] when it was written because [the airport] existed. But I’m in favor of this special permit and I hope it passes.”
Associate board member Jacqueline Kain asked Egan what would happen if the Selectboard would not grant the airport its special permit. “It will continue to be a non-conforming use and we’ll pursue other avenues for the airport,” Egan said.
Vice Chairman Pedro Rafael Pachano asked Egan about several allegations residents have made about the airport. “How do you respond to the idea that the airport doesn’t contribute economically to the town, given your tax status?” Pachano asked Egan.
“There’s a very small portion of the airport in Chapter 61A land which because it’s agricultural [tract of land],” Egan said. “So it enjoys a reduced tax status as a percentage of the overall acreage. It’s very small and it’s a red herring in my view. I think the tax impact is indisputable from a real property tax point of view because of the tax dollars that come into the town. At the airport, we have people who fly into Great Barrington and spend their time here.”
“How do you respond to the comments [made by residents] about the contamination of the air, water, and ground due to the fuel the airplanes are using?” Pachano asked.
“No one has presented any evidence,” Egan said. “There has been no evidence presented that the airport pollutes anything. This is one of the few airports in America that actually offers unleaded aviation fuel. But the airport can’t control what the pilots use.”
On the special permit application, a Selectboard public hearing is listed for Monday, February 27, which is also the scheduled date for the board’s regular meeting.
Meanwhile, there is at least one online petition supporting the Great Barrington Airport. As of February 1, 6,068 people have signed the petition.
Click here to read the special permit application.
