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our society can expect to live and survive, it is disheartening to see our Planning Board present us with a shallow, outdated, and naïve plan that will only further fragment our vital rural areas, without the slightest advantage in terms of affordability and equity.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.

Williams Community Chest Looking Forward to Centennial

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
09:20AM / Sunday, April 19, 2026

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Williamstown Community Chest is making plans to celebrate its centennial anniversary this year. 

 

"We are planning some big celebrations around this milestone," said board President Matt Carter at the nonprofit's 99th annual business meeting on Tuesday morning, unveiling the logo to be used this year "to look back on the history of the community, and to celebrate with all of you and the work that you do over this 100th year."

 

The 100th annual meeting will be held on March 10, 2027, the Community Chest's birthday (there will be cake, he promised) and a gala will be held at the Clark Art Institute on Sept. 25, 2027. 

 

"We're going to try to use this year to highlight the great work that everyone does. It's usually a custom for someone to say, well, we couldn't do this work without you, but you are the work," he said to the gathering at the Williams Inn. "We really exist to support you in doing this work."

 

The local Community Chest supports 19 agencies, awarding $318,500 in allocations, as well as $62,200 in grants in 2025 to local organizations. 

 

Executive Director Anne Singleton thanks the many volunteers and businesses that support the Community Chest and its 19 agencies.

thanked the chest's many supporters, including MountainOne for sponsoring the annual Fun Run, Williams College for hosting is Penny Social and Nonprofit Fair.

 

"I'd like to extend that thank you to our local businesses that support all kinds of events for us. They provide prizes for the Penny Social and they do this for many, many organizations and fundraisers," she said.