Great Barrington — A public hearing on a new 20-unit apartment building with one office space at 546 Main Street is scheduled for Monday, April 14, at 6 p.m., at Town Hall.
The hearing was originally scheduled for the Selectboard meeting on Monday, March 10; however, at the March 10 meeting, Selectboard member Garfield Reed recused himself from the discussion because he has a personal relationship with some of the property’s abutters.
The company behind the project, AM MGMT 2 LLC of Pittsfield, is applying for special permits from the town to complete the project under Section 8.2 Accessory Dwelling Unit, Section 9.2 Water Quality Protection Overlay District, and 10.4 Special Permits.
After Reed recused himself at the March 10 meeting and the public hearing was postponed, Selectboard Chair Steve Bannon explained that, for a project to be approved for special permits, the permits must be approved with four Selectboard votes. With Reed recusing himself, the board only had three votes from its remaining members.
Bannon said that, even with the continuation of the hearing on April 14, the hearing would likely be continued until after the annual town election in May when the vacant Selectboard seat is filled.
The plans for the building, named the Mahaiwe Apartments, were previously presented to the Planning Board at its meeting on February 27.
According to the company’s application, the proposed site is located on the southwest corner of Main Street and Mahaiwe Street on 0.69 acres of land that is currently a vacant lot. The development project will include constructing one building approximately 6,650 square feet in size with two floors, along with a parking area with 24 spaces.
As listed in draft findings of fact that were part of the Selectboard March 10 meeting informational packet, at its February 27 meeting, the Planning Board voted to recommend the company’s special permit application for the Water Quality Protection Overlay District.
However, the Planning Board recommended that the Selectboard not approve the part of the company’s application to not conform to the town’s requirement for nonresidential street-level space.
Section 8.4.2 in the town’s zoning bylaws states:
Outside the Village Center
Overlay District, at least 25 percent of street-level floor space shall be reserved for nonresidential use.
The findings of fact list that if this requirement is applied to the project, 1,750 square feet of nonresidential street-floor space would be required by the town. The company proposes 480 square feet of nonresidential street-floor space as part of its project.
Click here for plans of the building project that were part of the Selectboard’s March 10 meeting informational packet.
