Letter: Voters Should Reject Changes to RR Zone

To the Editor:

Williamstown residents attending town meeting on Tuesday, May 17, would be well-advised to watch the most recent "Talks on the Hill" at Williamstown Rural Lands, now playing on WilliNet.

It is hard not to conclude that town voters should reject the Planning Board's proposed articles with respect to our Rural Residence districts. In a succinct 30-minute presentation on "Low-Density Development," Regina Fink and Annika Harrington provide viewers with a deep understanding of the complexities of rural development and housing, delivered with a clarity that has been lacking from the Planning Board itself.

With neither research nor actual planning, the board is bringing a lengthy and confusing list of changes to town meeting. In origin and conception, several proposals treat the General and Rural Residence districts as equivalent, reducing lot sizes, decreasing frontage requirements, and allowing multi-unit buildings in both, as if equity were somehow served by using the same broad brush on zones that are different for a reason.

Rural Residence lands are not on the town water and sewer, they are farther from services and goods, and they provide important ecosystem benefits, such as farm and forestland, wildlife and plant preservation, stormwater management and carbon sequestration. As the climate crisis changes the paradigms by which our society can expect to live and survive, it is disheartening to see our Planning Board present us with a shallow, outdated, and naïve plan that will only further fragment our vital rural areas, without the slightest advantage in terms of affordability and equity.

Anne O'Connor
Williamstown, Mass.

Crust Serving Up Pizza Pies in Two Locations

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
02:03PM / Saturday, June 28, 2025

Crust owner Jim Cervone and manager Lexi Politis make pizza's at the Williamstown location. 

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Crust has been serving up classic and specialty pizzas since its opening in 2020 in Pittsfield, and for over a year now in Williamstown.

 

Owner Jim Cervone said his inspiration was his love for cooking and pizza.

 

"I love pizza, and I'm Italian, and I grew up with cooking. I remember my grandmother cooking. Some of the recipes we have here are from my grandmother, specifically the meatballs," he said. "So I've always grown up with food. I'm a good, amateur chef. Always liked cooking. Whenever I travel, I always look for pizza, because that's one of my things. ...

 

"I wasn't really crazy about the offerings, not just around here, just in general. And so the inspiration was, how can I make a really good pizza at an affordable price?" 

 

Cervone said his most popular pizzas are chicken bacon ranch and buffalo chicken, flavors requested by customers and not something he was planning to add to the menu at first since chicken pizza isn't usually found in an Italian restaurant.

 

"I personally think the Grandma's Pizza, which has got a sliced mozzarella cheese underneath, and the organic red sauce on top with meatballs, is one of my favorites," he said. "They're homemade meatballs. It's my grandmother's recipe — that's a popular one."

 

Also on the menu are red and white mushroom pizzas, a "green" version with housemade pesto, peppers and mushrooms, and the option to build your own pie with a wide variety of crusts, sauces, cheeses, toppings and finishes.