Dalton Committee, BRPC Host Climate Change Preparedness Forum

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
Print Story | Email Story
DALTON, Mass. — The Green Committee is hosting a climate change preparedness public education forum on Thursday,  Aug. 3, at the Stationery Factory. 
 
This free event is a collaboration between the Green Committee, the Stationery Factory, and Berkshire Regional Planning Commission. 
 
The ultimate goal of the event is to educate residents on ways they can reduce fossil fuel by using available funding programs and technology, committee member Steven Marantz said. 
 
"I would say an unprecedented ecological and humanitarian crisis will without a doubt occur if we do not address climate change aggressively," added committee member Todd Logan. 
 
If climate change is not addressed the average temperature of the Earth increases and the tropics will eventually become inhabitable, member Thomas Irwin said. Approximately, 3 billion people, which is half of the population on earth, will be displaced creating "an unfathomable disaster" including lack of housing, food, and resources for the migrants. 
 
"We don't have the resources to be able to handle it and house those people," Irwin said. 
 
"I would say an unprecedented ecological and humanitarian crisis will without a doubt occur if we do not address climate change aggressively," Logan said. 
 
During this free event, experts will speak on navigating funding opportunities for weatherizing and obtaining heating pumps and solar panels for homes, businesses and rentals. 
 
The event will kick off at 5 p.m. in the venue's main stage space that will house MassSave-approved weatherization and heat pump vendors.   
 
Although open to the public, the event is directed toward residents of Becket, Cheshire, Cummington, Dalton, Hinsdale, Peru, Savoy, Washington and Windsor. 
 
Starting at 6 p.m. there will be a panel discussion with Green Energy Consumers Alliance Executive Director Larry Chretien and Berkshire Regional Planning Commission's environmental and energy planner Sherdyl Fernandez-Aubert. 
 
Audience members will have a chance to ask questions following the discussion. Register for the event here

Tags: energy efficiency,   

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Pittsfield Looks to Update Zoning for ADUs

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Accessory dwelling units will be by-right in early 2025 and the city wants to be prepared.

On Tuesday, the Community Development Board voted to become the petitioner for amendments to the City Code that reflect the new ADU legislation. City Planner Kevin Rayner has crafted a draft ordinance that the board will dig into before it goes to the City Council.

As a part of the $4.1 billion Affordable Homes Act signed into law over the summer, ADUs up to 900 square feet can be built by right in single-family zoning districts.

"This legislation will go into effect February 2, 2025, so we're trying to get our ordinance to accommodate ADUs by that point," Rayner said.

"Our ordinance wasn't prohibitive against accessory dwelling units, but we do need to up our dimensional requirements to kind of accommodate for them as they are, sort of like an accessory structure, in a way but they have some different requirements because they are being used as a dwelling."

The city plans to allow ADUs in a one- to two-family residential use, allowing for duplexes that meet other requirements to have one.

Most of the amendments will take place in Article 23 Section 9.101, which outlines restrictions for accessory buildings.  

"They're mostly dimensional. We're going to make it so that maybe you can't take up more than 20 percent of the lot coverage," Rayner said.

View Full Story

More Pittsfield Stories