Selectboard Chairman Steve Bannon said he could not support enforcement of the bylaw until there is an implementation and funding plan for the series of water stations that are planned to help consumers refill the reusable bottles.
While a long list of businesses and other organizations said they supported the new bylaw, it did not sit did well with a number of other merchants, who felt the ban would harm their businesses or who objected on the grounds of legislative overreach.
The Planning Board had a frank and often tense discussion with outgoing Selectboard Chairman Sean Stanton over which board should be the special permit-granting authority for marijuana establishments.
At issue is that the plan ran afoul of the town's Cottage Era Estate zoning bylaw governing the development of a handful of historic properties in town that fall under that bylaw.
“Saving the main building will lengthen our design and construction process and increase our costs but satisfying the community was very important to Vijay and me.”
-- Chrystal Mahida, on why she and her husband Vijay revised plans for their Berkshire Hotel
Much of the discussion [about the hotel proposal] has either lost sight of the real issue or has twisted it into something it is not. I’ve been distressed by the seeming willingness of the participants in this debate to obfuscate what is, in actuality, a fairly simple question.
In his letter to the editor, Stephen McAlister writes: "What’s at stake here is the integrity of a New England town meeting, the most direct form of democracy on the planet."