Town of Lenox, Massachusetts

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Town of Lenox Annual Town Report - 2008 REPORT OF THE ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS To the Honorable Board of Selectmen and Citizens of Lenox: During 2008, the ZBA acted on 17 petitions for 9 special permits, 3 modifications of special permits and 6 variances. The Board granted 9 special permits, 2 modifications of special permits and 4 variances. The Board regretfully accepted the resignations of members Jim Overmyer and Daniel Mintz who have served many years. Sue Lyman and Robert Fuster were appointed as alternates. Board members are: Pam Kueber, Chairman Shawn Leary Considine, Clerk Ethan Berg Ned Douglas Clifford Snyder Alternates: Harold Brown Robert Fuster Jedd Hall Sue Lyman The Zoning Board of Appeals meets on the first and third Wednesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. Appointments are required. REPORT OF THE PLANNING BOARD To the Honorable Board of Selectmen and the Citizens of Lenox: Respectfully submitted, Peggy Ammendola The Planning Board met twenty times during 2008, approved nine Form A applications, providing for minor property subdivisions, and heard three informal presentations on proposed projects. It is striking to note that such activity is substantially less than prior years, reflecting the worsening condition of the economy. The positive side of this situation, however, meant that we had the ability to devote a good deal of effort to planning for the future of the Town in an environment which allowed sufficient time to properly consider ideas and proposals and obtain input from the community before finalizing them. Oftentimes, such endeavors are conducted in a reactionary manner and are therefore not as comprehensive as they should be. To this end, we were successful in completing a year long project to completely rewrite the Zoning Bylaw in order to make it more understandable, eliminate inconsistencies and provide a solid base to make more substantial changes in the future. Voters at a Special 66
Town of Lenox Annual Town Report - 2008 Town Meeting in April unanimously approved this recodification which also received the endorsement of the Attorney General in July. A copy of the new Zoning Bylaw may be obtained at the Town Clerk’s office or on the Town’s website, townoflenox.com. In other business, the Board unanimously approved a Housing Planned Production Plan which was prepared by the Affordable Housing Committee, continued work on an update of our Open Space and Recreation Plan, and voted to recommend a rejection of General Electric’s proposed plan for remediation of PCB’s from the Housatonic River. During the summer and fall, we focused our efforts on the preparation of an inclusionary housing zoning bylaw, as well as a new flexible development bylaw to replace our Open Space Residential Development Overlay District. As the year drew to a close, we were considering changes to the Great Estates Preservation bylaw which would allow some uses as of right for these special properties. It is our hope to once again have a Special Town Meeting in the spring which will exclusively deal with all of these zoning issues. We have received several positive comments about a similar meeting held last year as it provides adequate time for voters to have discussions about these proposals rather than try and deal with them at the end of a long night during the Annual Town Meeting. Membership on our board continues to be dynamic as we received Pamela Mackie’s resignation in February. Her seat was filled by Gary Schiff at the Annual Town Election in May. Also, longtime member Kimberly Reopell Flynn resigned in July, following her election to the Board of Selectmen. Ken Fowler was appointed to fill that vacancy at a joint meeting of the Planning Board and Selectmen at the end of July. We thank Pam and Kim for their dedicated service and welcome Gary and Ken as we continue to try and work towards keeping Lenox the special place that it is. In closing, we give special thanks to Mary Albertson, Town Planner, whose hard work, professionalism, and patience have helped us achieve greater things than we could have otherwise. Respectfully submitted, Joseph A. Kellogg, Chair Steven Sample, Vice-Chair Kathleen McNulty-Vaughan Gary Schiff Ken Fowler 67
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Town of Lenox, Massachusetts

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