Lenox Special Town Meeting Approves Land Purchase, Short-Term Rental Bylaw, and Zoning Changes on November 6, 2025

The Lenox Special Town Meeting convened at 7:05 p.m. on Nov. 6, 2025, with a quorum present. Town Manager Jay Green said Articles 2-7 were scheduled for early action, Article 8 was the annual Affordable Housing Trust transfer, Article 9 was a general bylaw amendment on short-term rentals, and Articles 10-11 were zoning bylaw changes. The meeting recognized retiring Town Clerk Carrie Summer and introduced her successor, Paul Madden. The town also voted to waive reading of the warrant and allow the moderator to declare two-thirds votes by voice vote.

Town Manager Jay Green described all funding articles as drawing from certified free cash, citing a $5.5 million free-cash balance; however, the motions for Articles 2 and 3 specified Community Preservation Fund appropriations.

Opening Remarks & Announcements

• Max Scherf, executive director of Pine Knoll, announced the new public safety complex open house on Saturday at noon, with new Police Chief Mark Smith on hand, followed at 2 p.m. by a library presentation on the first two Lenox fire chiefs.
• Jay Green encouraged residents to volunteer for town committees.

Warrant Articles & Discussion

Article 2 – Kennedy Park Land Acquisition

• Select Board member Ed Lane moved to authorize acquisition of a 10-acre parcel off Woolsey Road (Assessors parcel 22-3-0, Book 525, Page 337) for open space, conservation, and passive recreation as part of Kennedy Park, using $250,000 from the Community Preservation Fund.
• History: The town bought land for Kennedy Park in 1956; the Smith family had owned the 10-acre inholding since the 1940s and agreed to sell at a non-negotiable $250,000. The town previously sought a donation or negotiated price. The tax rate will not be affected by the purchase.
• Approved by voice vote.

Article 3 – CPA Open-Space Appropriation

• Tom Delasco, Community Preservation Committee chair, moved to appropriate $250,000 from the CPC open-space reserve fund for the same Kennedy Park parcel. The committee met in July and recommended the out-of-cycle request.
• Approved by voice vote.

Article 4 – Indefinite Postponement

• A Select Board member moved to indefinitely postpone this article, explaining that the seller had received a considerably higher competing offer and the Select Board did not want to present the purchase appropriation.
• Approved by voice vote.

Article 5 – Library Funding

• The town voted to transfer $65,000 from free cash for library work. The motion as transcribed says 'tablet expenditures,' but the explanation described a space utilization study to help the library make better use of its space, including youth reading, public space, and computer space; the study would go to the Permanent Building Committee and Select Board.
• Approved by voice vote. Note the transcript discrepancy between the motion wording and the explanation.

Article 6 – Wastewater BAN Interest

• The town voted to transfer $304,000 from free cash for a short-term interest payment due January 2026 on a $10 million bond anticipation note for the wastewater treatment plant upgrade project. The appropriation will be transferred to the wastewater enterprise fund.
• Approved by voice vote.

Article 7 – Fire/Rescue Ambulance

• The town voted to transfer $29,000 from free cash for Fire and Rescue capital expenditures to bring the old ambulance up to standard as a backup; it needs new suspension.
• Approved by voice vote.

Article 8 – Affordable Housing Trust Transfer

• The town voted to appropriate $49,102.83 from free cash to the Lenox Affordable Housing Trust. The 6% local room-occupancy excise tax produced a little over $4.2 million in FY2025, including $196,000 from short-term rentals. This transfer equals 25% of that short-term rental tax total.
• The Select Board stated it recognizes a nexus between short-term rentals and rising housing costs and considers 25% an appropriate amount.
• Approved by voice vote.

Article 9 – Short-Term Rental Bylaw

• The town voted to replace General Bylaw Chapter 28 with a new short-term rental bylaw. The motion was introduced as the work of 'land use director and town planner Eamon Coughlin,' but the presenter identified herself as Amy Kaufman, town planner.
• Kaufman explained that Lenox has 170 short-term rentals, about 7.5% of all housing units, or about one in 13 housing units. The current bylaw only requires a one-time registration, and fewer than half of short-term rentals are registered. The town hopes to use Rentalscape for convenient online annual registration; the system also scans online listings to identify rentals.
• The new bylaw has three requirements for owners: annual registration with a fee the Select Board may set, a fire extinguisher in every unit, and posted information with owner contact details and reminders of existing town rules such as leash law, trash storage, no amplified music, and off-street parking.
• This bylaw does not impose state building-code requirements; the state now requires inspections and, in most cases, sprinkler systems in short-term rentals, and municipalities have no control over those requirements.
• An audience member asked whether the system would catch unregistered short-term rentals by scanning online listings; the town planner confirmed it would, including new rentals.
• Approved by voice vote.

Article 10 – Zoning: Fencing and Screening

• The town voted to amend zoning sections 6.1.12 fencing and 6.1.13 screening after a question from the Zoning Board of Appeals. Fences inside or outside the street-line setback will be limited to four feet for visibility and traffic safety, and the screening section will apply to non-residential screening only.
• Approved by the required two-thirds voice vote.

Article 11 – Zoning: Accessory Dwelling Units

• The town voted to amend section 9.2 accessory dwelling units to incorporate Attorney General recommendations following the December 2024 ADU bylaw. Changes include replacing 'single-family dwelling' with 'principal dwelling,' removing additional parking requirements, specifying a minimum lot-size exception, clarifying that pre-existing nonconforming structures may be converted to ADUs, and removing the special permit requirement for an ADU on a lot with a duplex.
• Approved by the required two-thirds voice vote; the moderator declared it carried unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony

• An audience member asked for clarification during Article 9: whether the proposed Rentalscape system would scan online listings to identify unregistered short-term rentals. The town planner confirmed that it would, including new rentals.

Key Outcomes

• Voted to waive reading of the warrant and authorize the moderator to declare two-thirds votes by voice vote.
• Approved Articles 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 as described above.
• Approved the indefinite postponement of Article 4.
• Adjourned after completing the warrant.