Great Barrington Planning Board Organizational Meeting and Solar Permitting Report – May 14, 2026

The Great Barrington Planning Board held its annual organizational meeting on May 14, 2026, with all five members present. Members elected officers, appointed representatives to town and regional committees, and recommended an alternate delegate to the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission. The board also reviewed state clean-energy permitting changes, heard public testimony about traffic and tree protection at a Main Street construction site, and received staff updates on enforcement, the Open Space and Recreation Plan, and possible zoning issues.

Organizational Business

• The board elected Brandy as Chair, Pedro as Vice Chair, and Jackie as Clerk for the year; votes were unanimous with no objections.
• Board members were appointed to committees: Jeremy to the Community Preservation Committee, Jackie to the Design Advisory Committee, Brandy to the Lake Mansfield Improvement Task Force, and Pedro to the Regional Planning Commission. All appointments passed without opposition.
• The board voted to recommend Malcolm Vick to the Select Board as alternate delegate to the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission so he could continue one more year as president.
• No Form A applications were received.
• The April 23, 2026 meeting minutes were approved as amended. Board member Kim abstained because she had not attended that meeting.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Aislin Amore, a Mahewee Street resident and parent of three young children, reported dangerous speeding from Route 7 onto Mahewee Street and said she was willing to organize neighbors, correspond with the board, and learn more about a possible one-way street designation.
• Aislin Amore also spoke about the large maple tree near the proposed 21-unit apartment complex across from her home. She said the current permit appears to require fencing about 25 feet from the property line, roughly half the distance to the tree's dripline, while the Tree Committee had been told the tree would be protected to the dripline. She said she was not trying to stop the project but asked the board to clarify and strengthen protection measures before foundation excavation begins.
• Julie Anna, chair of the Tree Committee, asked that the Tree Warden be included before any pruning decisions, noting heavy equipment was already sitting within the tree's dripline and some limbs support other limbs. She also asked for information on the Open Space and Recreation Plan to share with the Parks and Recreation Commission.
• Eileen asked whether data centers would be multi-story; staff said large data centers are generally one-story warehouse-like structures.
• James, of 84 North Plain Road, called the Mahewee Street situation a lost opportunity because residents had raised narrow-street concerns before approval, and the issue should have been addressed at the beginning.
• Shannon Boris, a direct abutter to the project at 546 Main Street, said vehicles had twice parked next to the tree, that the developer's communication had been weak, and that the development was off to a bad start. She asked for enforcement, neighborhood involvement in any traffic changes, and continued effort to put access on Main Street rather than Mahewee Street.

Discussion: Construction Site and Traffic Concerns

• Board members reported resident concerns about an excavator at the Main Street site and said the planning/building department had already contacted the developer about tree protection fencing and would monitor the project.
• Members discussed Mahewee and Division Street speeding, traffic calming, complete streets, and the possibility of one-way streets in the MXD zone between Route 7 and Route 23. Some members felt the site plan matter was closed, while others wanted to revisit the complete streets plan or address the issues through the upcoming master plan. No formal action was taken.

Discussion: Clean Energy Permitting Report

• Staff member Chris reported that Pedro, Jonathan, and he attended an April 30, 2026 Berkshire Regional Planning Commission/DOER presentation titled New Local Permitting for Clean Energy Projects. The speaker was Rick Collins, interim director of the Siting and Permitting Division of the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources.
• DOER plans to launch an online permitting portal in July, initially as a work in progress. The portal would consolidate state and local permitting pathways and provide site-suitability scoring tools. Board discussion indicated lower scores generally mean less impact and are more compatible with solar development, while high scores flag sensitive resources.
• Municipalities are the permitting authority for small clean-energy generation projects up to 25 megawatts; projects of 25 megawatts or more fall under the Energy Facilities Siting Board. Board members noted the town's largest solar facility is roughly 2 to 2.5 megawatts and expressed concern that local control is limited and may take the form of conditions and input rather than prohibition.
• The town has been awarded BRPC technical assistance to review the town's solar bylaw for compliance with new state regulations, including permitted zones, size thresholds, conditions, and energy storage. BRPC will also review zoning for the new seasonal communities designation; the work is likely to occur this summer.

Discussion: Joint Select Board Meeting and Data Centers

• The board agreed to hold a joint meeting with the Select Board on Monday, June 1, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. to align on planning, zoning, housing, economic development, and seasonal communities priorities. All board members said they were available.
• Staff shared American Planning Association materials on AI data centers and noted that while the largest hyperscale centers use energy equivalent to roughly 100,000 households and are unlikely in the Berkshires, smaller data centers may emerge. Potential zoning considerations include treating data centers as a distinct use, noise, water and electrical utility impacts, diesel backup generators, stormwater, and construction impacts. No zoning change was proposed.

Staff Reports and Next Steps

• Staff reported complaints from Barrington Brook subdivision residents about unfinished work and likely non-compliance with special permit and subdivision conditions. Staff will follow up, send a letter if needed, and may withhold permits or certificates of occupancy if enforcement is warranted.
• A draft update to the Open Space and Recreation Plan is expected to be posted online over the following weekend and discussed at the board's May 28, 2026 meeting.

The meeting adjourned at 7:08 p.m.