2025 began with many new regulations, reports, and overwhelming national actions, including freezing federal funds. Within the guidelines of Stockbridge Updates, there is limited space to cover these issues, so I will try to provide a synopsis with links for more information.
A major concern is Federal Funding -The press reports that the federal government has frozen $15 billion in federal reimbursements for essential Massachusetts infrastructure, like roads and bridges, education, public schools, help to pay for health care for low-income people, and local government and school functions. This action also impacts the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC), a conduit for managing small federal grants that pay for projects that benefit four key stakeholder groups – non-profits, municipalities, school districts, and entrepreneurs. As I write this, a judge ordered the release of the funds, and the administration is pushing back; https://berkshirefundingfocus.org/about-us/ and https://www.wbur.org/news/2025/02/03/trump-solar-epa-inflation-reduction-act-energy-massachusetts.
Last Thursday, Governor Maura Healey released “A Home for Everyone,” the state’s first comprehensive statewide housing plan that outlines the challenges facing Massachusetts, identifies state and local needs, and sets goals for housing production and preservation, calling for 22,000 new units by 2035. The report includes information received from residents and BRPC during a meeting at BCC last spring, including the mismatch between housing costs and local incomes, the loss of year-round homes to disrepair, and seasonal rentals. In her report, Healey called on Berkshire County to build more than 1,744 additional housing units over the next decade. www.mass.gov/info-details/a-home-for-everyone-Massachusetts-statewide-housing-plan
Article 97 Land In Massachusetts, “Article 97 land” refers to land protected under Article 97 of the state constitution, guaranteeing citizens the right to a clean environment, including natural, scenic, and historical qualities, meaning that such land cannot be quickly sold, developed, or significantly altered without a two-thirds vote of the state legislature due to its protected conservation status; essentially, it is a legal mechanism to preserve open space and natural areas. Several large tracts of land are protected under these regs, which the state has started to review. For more information, https://www.mass.gov/doc/draft-open-space-act-regulations-301-cmr-5200-112224/download.
As of February 2, Accessory Dwelling Units or granny flats of less than 900 square feet can be built statewide by right in single-family zoning districts. Stockbridge’s Select Board/Planning Board is reviewing options for regulations and proposed bylaws by Selectman Patrick White to allow one additional dwelling unit per property to full-time legal residents, defined as living in their homes at least 183 days a year, and requiring significant new residential housing developments, but not hotel projects, to include affordable housing units, based on the size of the project, or pay into the Affordable Housing Trust Fund.
