Great Barrington — Two citizen petition articles have been submitted to Town Clerk Jennifer Messina for this year’s annual town meeting. The town meeting has not been scheduled yet for this year, but it is typically in May. The Selectboard must review the petitions for them to be placed on the annual town meeting’s agenda.
A petition submitted by resident Silke Aisenbery, which received 13 signatures, asks for a policy change to the town’s Police Department in light of the “Gender Queer” book investigation controversy. As listed, the petition reads:
To promote and uphold the spirit and values of Community Policing to which the Great Barrington Police Department (GBPD) has committed, and to enable trained professionals to fulfill the stated missions of their respective schools, libraries and educational organizations, the GBPD will follow best practices of referring questions and complaints about educational materials to the relevant oversight bodies and their appropriate legal counsel. Specifically, the GBPD will refer any and all initial assessments, investigations, and evaluations of materials utilized in the course of said trained professionals conducting recognized educational practices to the oversight bodies (district committees, trustees, boards) and their policies.
The second citizen petition was submitted by resident Peter Most [Disclaimer: Peter Most is a contributing columnist for The Berkshire Edge], which received 15 signatures and asks for a change in the town’s zoning regulations:
The purpose of the Amendment: In order to address Great Barrington’s Housing needs, the owners of the properties at 33 Silver Street and 35 Silver Street seek at town meeting to permit multi-unit dwellings on the properties. Prior to town meeting, the owners of each property shall restrict deed restrictions prohibiting non-residential commercial uses of the properties.
To have multi-use dwellings on the properties at 33 and 35 Silver Street, the article proposes to amend a portion of Section 9.11, Mixed Use Traditional Zone (MXD), to include additional zones that include Silver Street. According to the town’s property database, 33 Silver Street is owned by Charles Haddad, and 35 Silver Street is owned by Blackwater Realty LLC.
Click here to view the petition submitted by Aisenbery. Click here to view the petition submitted by Most.
