A statue of W.E.B. DuBois will be unveiled in July on the steps of the Mason Library in Great Barrington. My visit to another outdoor installation shows what public art can accomplish.
Some attendees were also concerned that their property values would decline if a cannabis store was located near them, or that long lines would be difficult to manage.
If voters approve the Great Barrington bylaw, indoor cultivation of marijuana of the sort envisioned in the mills will be permitted by-right in the light industrial zone that covers much of Housatonic.
After nearly two hours of sometimes contentious deliberations, the New Marlborough Board of Selectmen voted to continue the public hearing on the permit in order to give both Oasis CEO Joshua Seitz and the town more time to gather additional information and consider the proposal.
The proposal by Oasis Campus LLC to build a sprawling cannabis production facility on 106 acres near Lake Buel and abutting the Sandisfield State Forest has roiled the waters of this normally quiet town.
Inspector Edwin May did his job by interpreting what was available on the books. He treated Kearsarge’s project, which is to generate power at discounted rates for three central Massachusetts municipalities, as “light industrial” and so not allowed on the land the company planned to lease from farmer Bob Coons.
“Until last week the school did not understand the location, the size, or the timing of the project. We’re just attempting to collect as much information as possible to share with our families, hear their concerns, and work with Kearsarge Energy to bring about a solution.
-- Tom Sternal, president of the board of trustees at the Great Barrington Rudolf Steiner School
Building Inspector Edwin May said the property did not have sufficient frontage for a building lot and is not by right since it sits in a residential/agricultural zone.
