West Stockbridge — Canine lovers are one step, or paw, closer to seeing a dog park in town come to fruition. The town’s Dog Park Committee filed a special permit for the venue on October 1, with that document coming before the Planning Board at the latter group’s meeting that evening.
Those permit documents can be found here.
A public hearing will be scheduled by the Planning Board before mid-November for input on the project.
Permit documents state the 50,100-square-foot, or 1.15-acre, park site is adjacent to Town Hall, at 21 State Line Road, and will house a dedicated “Small Dog” section of 11,300 square feet, as well as an “All Dog” area of 38,800 square feet. Its design avoids encroachment on existing recreational uses of the property—including sports fields, a playground, and a skate park—“while at the same time protecting the existing woodland by working with existing grades and trees of significance,” documents state.
The park will also be designed as ADA-compliant “so that there are paths for humans that are accessible for anyone else to use,” said Michael Bolognino, who co-chairs the Dog Park Committee with Jana Sax. “I’m biased, but I think the plans are pretty beautiful, and I encourage you to take a walk through the plot,” he said to the dais.
The dog park will be funded through a $275,000 grant from the Stanton Foundation that includes $25,000 for its design, with the remaining appropriation to be used for construction. Residents at the May 6 Town Meeting approved a matching $25,000 funding for the project from the West Stockbridge Community Preservation Committee. Launched in October 2023, and formalized on July 1, the eight-member group has held Town Hall public meetings and promoted the project through a public forum and kiosks at town events.
The Berkshire Design Group is developing the site plans based on the results of a June survey conducted by Foresight Land Services. Committee members are consulting with dog park expert Dr. Marilynn Glasser in the project development.
On March 25, the Select Board approved the Town Hall tract out of four possible sites for the park, pending the Planning Board issuing a special permit for the endeavor.
“The grant gives us the ability to make a really beautiful, functional park,” Bolognino said.
According to Planning Board Chair Dana Bixby, the group has 65 days to schedule the public hearing and 90 days to close, or finish, the public hearing. The Planning Board sends a notice to all abutters to the property that a public hearing is occurring. Once the board issues a decision on the permit, it is filed with the town clerk. After filing, a 20-day appeal period begins before the decision is certified and the permit issued.
Clerk Ryan Beattie said a site visit will probably be involved with the board’s review, with Bixby suggesting that the process may conclude at the end of January.
“We do have a grant that we have been given, and we have some deadlines that—for example, design approval and construction—to begin later on in the year,” Bolognino said. “January is our hope to get this all [done]. The only oddball in this situation would be an appeal.”
However, Bixby said that out of her 34 years of serving on the Planning Board, she has only seen one case ever appealed.
Cell tower renewal
The group also discussed a cell tower renewal for the Route 41 structure, a measure Bixby said is required every five years per town regulations. One renewal had been granted previously by the Planning Board for this tower, and the site’s second such application is due within the next six months but hasn’t been filed yet, she said.
Bixby said the package from the previous renewal application “looked pretty fair,” and the process includes a public hearing.
“I don’t think it’s too complicated,” she said, adding that the attorney for the cell tower owner stated no changes to the structure were being requested. He queried whether an updated structural engineering report is needed, Bixby said.
The Foundry public hearing minutes amended
Planning Board members who served on the September 17 public hearing for The Foundry’s request to amend its special permit approved a change to the minutes of that meeting pursuant to the previous discussion and subsequent vote affirming the amendment. Specifically, and prompted by Bixby, the minutes were amended to reflect that live music at the patio bar of the venue is limited to Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, ending no later than 9 p.m.
