Free-Form Document Attachments Attach... Details Link Name: New Document Description: Subject/Title: 2003-11-03 Subtitle: Keywords: Review on: [ ] Default to Printable Version November 3, 2003 Present: Cris Irsfeld, Deb McMenamy, George Shippey, Ethel Meltzer, Brian Adams, Jack Cowles, Jim Nejaime, Nick Broad, Vlada Rousseff, Carl Sprague, Eva Sheridan, Pat O’Neill, Len Schiller, Allison Rachele Bayles, Barbara Zanetti, Bruce Finn, Rich Wilcox, Lincoln Russell, Nancy Ftizpatrick, Gloria Temple, John Wanderer, Marilyn Wightman, Eric Spizz-camera person and Jorja Marsden Cris opened the meeting with thanking Marilyn Wightman and all the residents of Heaton Court for hosting the meeting. Announcement was made of the winter ban on all night parking between 2:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. from November 15 to March 15. A motion was made by George to move Thomas Schuler to full member of the Zoning Board of Appeals to replace William Harris who passed away this summer. A second was received from Deb. The vote was unanimous. Deb made a motion to appoint David Adler as an Associate Member of the Zoning Board of Appeals. George seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous. The continuation of the special permit opened for Sydney and Judith Levine, 19 Beachwood Road which was submitted by Architect Pamela Sandler-Rota, to construct a 15’ by 13’ addition to the rear of the house. with the reading of the recommendation of the Planning Board. The Planning Board determined that the application did not seem to be more detrimental to the neighborhood and seemed to meet the requirements of Section 6.1.2.c. therefore recommending approval. The Selectmen made the following findings: A. The application is in compliance with all provision and requirements of this Bylaw, and in harmony with its general intent and purpose. B. The property is a single family dwelling and will remain a single family dwelling. C. The addition will not be detrimental to adjacent uses or the future character of the neighborhood. D. The application will not create undue traffic congestion or unduly impair pedestrian safety. E. It will not overload the water or sewer systems as it will remain a single family home. Deb McMenamy made a motion to approve construction of a 15’ by 13’ addition to the rear of the house. A second was received from George Shippey. The vote to approve the application was unanimous. Carl Sprague chairman of the Historic Preservation Task Force came to update the Selectmen on the progress the Committee has been making. The committee has researched other towns and their preservation status, contacted Mass Historical and have consulted with Town Counsel. The committee would like to send out a survey regarding a historic district to everyone in Town. There are certain criteria that will have to be followed to form a Historic District Committee. The Selectmen were in favor of forming this committee. Mr. Sprague will outline to them the letters that need to be sent to begin to form the Historic District Committee. The committee would like to see some sort of town wide preservation. Nick Broad from Berkshire South came to tell everyone what opportunities are available. There are many ties to Stockbridge as the person who started the Community Center is from Stockbridge, many board members and employees are from Stockbridge. Cris began the discussion of traffic by stating that the Chief of Police had recommended a stop sign going east on Main. It caused some concern in the beginning however many have stated that it is a good thing and definitely makes it easier for traffic coming from Pine. Another traffic item suggested by the Chief was to make Maple Street one way going west. The Chief knew it would cause controversy, however safety is an issue on that street. There is a real concern on Maple and Elm as people use it as a cut off so as not to come to the Red Lion Inn corner. There has been a petition circulating stating both Elm and Maple would be one way. The Chief stated that it was never a thought on this discussion to make each street one way. Chief Wilcox also stated that everyone should be careful for what they wish for – to make it consistent then enforcement would be for everyone crossing the street and parking where they shouldn’t. Possible suggestions were made to make Elm and Maple safer ranged from placing rumble strips or speed bumps to enforcement of the speeder and parking violators. Jack Cowles, Manager of Stockbridge Wine Cellar presented petitions to the Selectmen with 500 signatures attached. Jack explained that the petition had been corrected to read only Maple Street as one way. He continued by saying that traffic does travel faster on the street however that in South Lee and Egremont traffic goes slower as there is a presence of the police giving tickets. Possibly the police could patrol Elm and Maple between 8a.m. and 10 and 4 p.m. to 6. It was noted that Elm Street is very congested. The merchants on Elm Street feel that they will loose business by making Maple one way. If patrons from the south want to shop they won’t go around the Red Lion Inn Corner to come down Elm Street-they want to go into Maple then to Elm. Chief Wilcox told the audience that he and Cris had met with Berkshire Regional Planning to request a traffic study on the area. In the mean time the Chief will use Community Police Grant money to monitor Elm Street. The audience thought it a good idea about the rumble strips. Chief Wilcox explained that the road was not wide enough. It was also noted that rumble strips or bumps could be a liability issue. Cris concluded by saying that all of the concerns will be looked at and that they will receive a traffic report from Berkshire Regional Planning that will be shared and discussed at a future meeting. With no other business, the meeting adjourned at 8:15 p.m. A true copy, ATTEST: