Dear Carole,
Here is a letter I submitted to the Stockbridge Selectboard outlining my views on the special
permit application for the current Elm Court proposal. I hope you will print it.
My husband and I are fulltime Stockbridge residents who have lived on Old Stockbridge Road
near the Elm Court estate since 1998. We have watched the estate transition from an
abandoned, vandalized mansion to a family home – and now to a proposed massive resort
hotel. Twenty years ago, Robert Berle, the great-great grandson of the original owner, and his
wife, Sonya, asked the town to change the bylaw to permit a 18-room boutique hotel. We,
along with most others, voted at Town Meeting to allow this use. We were thankful that the
Berles were renovating the mansion, and we enjoyed some of the events that they graciously
hosted.
Unfortunately, they couldn’t make a go of it. In 2012 Amstar, AKA Front Yard, the new owner,
met with the Selectboard to write an amendment to the existing Cottage Era Estate bylaw that
would allow for a larger resort hotel.
This proposal included an Annex and Spa connected to the mansion by a corridor thereby
increasing the total size of the hotel to 110,000 square feet. No other buildings were
proposed. Most people thought the plan would entail just the one building.
The amendment passed but a special permit was still required. There was plenty of vocal and
written opposition. A letter objecting to the size of the project and its impact on our residential
neighborhood, and signed by 110 residents, was submitted. (see osrna.org for more
information) After three hearings, the Stockbridge selectboard voted for the proposal. Next
came special hearings in Lenox town boards. The proposal passed by one vote. But a group of
abutters and neighbors, incensed by the lack of communication between them and the town

boards, brought a lawsuit to Land Court. The suit was dismissed. But the developers, unable
to secure financing, never broke ground.
Fast forward to 2025. The current owners proposed a plan, actually much larger than the
original. Instead of a single new structure they propose building 12 hotel buildings and 38
individual houses which would be located on currently pristine land. These 50 separate
structures would require the destruction of hundreds of trees and the construction of hundreds
of feet of roads and driveways.
Before 2002, the Elm Court 89-acre property was subject to four-acre zoning under which only
17 new houses would be permitted. The purpose of 4-acre zoning was, and is, to help
preserve the rural character of the town while conserving open space. Similarly, the purpose of
the Bylaw was to preserve the historic architecture and landscape of our great estates by
allowing for adaptive reuse.
It is ironic that what started as a proposed boutique hotel might now become an oversized
resort and housing development. It could be appropriate in a suburban setting, but if allowed
would most certainly change the rural character of our town.
It is now over 11 years since the original special permit was passed. A lot has changed. This
new proposal needs to be carefully discussed by town residents and neighbors as well as
reviewed by our town boards and commissions.
Julie Edmonds – Stockbridge
 
Dear Carole,
Here is a letter to the Editor. I do hope it is in the nick of time.
In preparation for upcoming local elections League of Women Voters Central Berkshire County
has compiled a Local Election Schedule for your convenience
at http://lwvcentralberkshires.org/voter-info. Find information on dates for Town
Meeting, Town Election and the schedule of open seats, plus your Town Administrator, if you
need to make sure you are developing registered to vote.
We strongly encourage you to see what positions are open and consider volunteering to serve
in these critical roles that keep our communities strong.
LWV-CBC will be hosting candidate forums, where your community can meet the candidates
running for office. You can help us cover the many towns we serve in South and Central
Berkshire County by notifying us of any contested races and open seats where a forum would
be useful. Please contact us by email at lwvcentralberkshires@gmail.com.
Ramelle Pulitzer
Editor’s note: Ramelle is Chapter President, LWV Central Berkshire County
 
Carole,
Many thanks for Saturday’s article. The referenced locus – the Miraval property – has special
meaning to me as I was a Cranwell student and spent some formative years on that site.
Cheers, Andrew Weiss
 
To the Editor:
We live on Church Street and our neighbor recently forwarded a copy of the Stockbridge