Journalists are reporting on the constant chaos, but they are not featuring the Congresspeople who are speaking up. Here are a few; there are many more.
The case has been an enormous headache for town officials and nearby residents in the Blue Hill neighborhood and has so far cost tens of thousands of dollars in billable hours from the town’s law firm.
"It’s a very tough and competitive situation for Low Income Housing Tax Credit Projects right now — a situation exacerbated by the uncertainty that has been created at the national level."
-- Tim Geller, executive director of the Community Development Corporation of South Berkshire
In his letter to the editor, Steve McAlister writes: “A major intention of the affordable housing law is to avoid concentrating the residents of such housing on the worst available sites.”
In a letter to the editor, members of the Green Tea Party write: “Our goal is to get the voters on their feet, to understand the way decisions get made, to play watchdog and increase the conversation.”
Economic development promised by both the 100 Bridge and hotel projects on Bridge Street helped the town get a $2.1 million state grant to work on roads and utilities along this emerging commercial corridor.
The ZBA’s test for expansion of grandfathered property, given the room limit bylaw, was whether a third floor would be “substantially more detrimental” according to a list of criteria, than what already exists.
“There is no room for error when you’re dealing with a public water supply. There was insufficient regulation around public drinking water in Great Barrington until this zoning code was put in."
-- Richard Dohoney, attorney for Building Inspector Edwin May
The land in question falls under Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) regulations that prohibit working land within 100-feet of a reservoir and wetlands, and the town’s rules that put a 500 foot buffer between a reservoir and any permitted activity.
