To the editor:
After many months, the Egremont Planning Board has produced the text of changes to the town’s zoning bylaw. (The proposal actually comes from the consultant hired by the Planning Board, who has captured the process so thoroughly that citizen comments are always referred to her and apparently cannot be incorporated without her approval.) The “final” version is comprised of seven separate warrant items. I am starting to review them, and it does not look good. I will try to publish analyses of them to the extent that I have time in the too-short period from their recent publication to the presently scheduled early December date for the proposed special town meeting.
To start, here is an analysis of Article 1:
It is proposed to modify the definition of agriculture. The modified definition is inconsistent with the comparable definition in the town’s general bylaws; rather, it should be conformed to that definition. The modified definition contains the word “equine” but fails to define that term, and there is an extra word “event” in one clause; these are drafting errors that even a junior lawyer would not make.
Weddings, farm events, concerts, and family celebrations, heretofore not regulated, would now require a special permit from the Planning Board. Such an event must be conducted on “an area of sufficient size to accommodate the event and support areas for parking, catering and the like.” Who is the judge of that amorphous requirement? Who do you think? To get the special permit, an applicant must state the maximum number of attendees, the location of the event, the location of additional parking (which for some inexplicable reason cannot be paved), and the date and time of the event, including the time for setting up and breaking down the tent or tents, tables, and chairs. If you have ever planned and held such an event, you know much of that info is not available until the last minute.
How long does it take to get a special permit? Too long for most events. Special permits require review by at least three other town boards, notice in a newspaper for two weeks, and a public hearing thereafter, among other things. The planning Board has 90 days after the hearing to render a decision. You better have a super wedding planner and great foresight to have a chance at complying.
Many happy events will not occur or will be moved elsewhere. For many years, my wife and I have hosted a Memorial Day affair in and around our barn. The attendance has grown to almost 100. Many different townspeople, including members of the Select Board and Planning Board, have been invited and attended. If this onerous and overreaching bylaw change is adopted, there will never be another one. Planning and holding the event is burdensome enough without having to get advance clearance from the bureaucracy.
The biggest complaints about largish events in town are about noise. We just adopted a stringent noise bylaw. So why do we need micromanagement of all the other aspects of a wedding or party? What is the point?
Article 1 is not that hard to understand. The following six articles are. It does not seem right to ask Egremonters to review and vote on these major changes during the Thanksgiving holiday period. What’s the rush?
Richard Allen
North Egremont
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