West Stockbridge — With Planning Board members Christopher Tonini and Andrew Fudge seated at the dais along with Chair Dana Bixby, the group unanimously approved zoning changes on July 15 to the town’s bylaws pertaining to short-term rentals (STRs) and accessory dwelling units (ADUs).
Generally, STRs are units within a home or property rented for 31 consecutive days or less. An ADU is generally considered to be a rentable living space attached or detached to a single-family-home lot.
Both topics have been in the news in recent years, especially in the southern Berkshires where municipalities such as Great Barrington and Stockbridge have struggled with enforcing STR ordinances, as well as officials who seek to add affordable housing through ADUs.
However, residents will have to wait to find out the details of the proposed West Stockbridge bylaws until those drafts are posted for a public hearing. The draft documents were not read or available at the Planning Board session and were to be sent to the Select Board before a public session is scheduled.
After initiating an informal request from Bixby, The Berkshire Edge filed a formal records request with the town on July 16, seeking those documents.
Additionally, during its July 15 session, Bixby commented that the group’s consultant, Herbert L. Singleton, president of Cross-Spectrum Consulting, had not submitted a report following his July 10 site visit to The Foundry, a local entertainment venue seeking an amendment to its special permit. Singleton conducted a sound test at the facility intended to determine the sound level difference between inside and outside the venue. The agenda item reflecting a public hearing for The Foundry but was canceled and rescheduled for July 29.
