New Marlborough planning board to relaunch protective bylaw revisions after failed vote

The New Marlborough Planning Board on May 12 agreed to rework protective bylaw changes that voters rejected at the annual town meeting. Chair Bob Hartt led a debrief on the failure of Warrant #38 and outlined a strategy to re-present the revisions at a Special Town Meeting tentatively scheduled for the end of June.

Board members said they will break the stalled warrant into several smaller, topic-specific warrants to make proposals clearer for voters. The board also endorsed identifying content experts to present individual items and increasing public education by posting proposed warrant language and a one-page FAQ at local public locations including the New Marlborough Library, Town Hall, the Southfield Store and the Meeting House Gallery, and by republishing meeting notices in the Berkshire Eagle and on Maggie’s List.

The board highlighted several substantive areas that need clearer statutory alignment and explanation: language affecting greenhouses, fur farming and piggeries and their relationship to Massachusetts Right to Farm case law; separating cannabis-related rules from agricultural-use provisions; and adding missing language on the service and use of municipal and public buildings. Members also raised concerns that a table included in the prior warrant confused voters and recommended moving it to an addendum as a reference item.

Planning Board members proposed a set of subject-matter experts to appear with the revised warrant items: the Building Inspector to advise on conforming to July 2025 changes in the Massachusetts building code; Town Counsel to advise on agricultural uses and cannabis-related language and to address Right to Farm questions; and local experts such as Jake Levin and Tom Braize to discuss slaughterhouse and meat-processing permitting in rural districts.

The board set a sequence of deadlines to keep the process on track: the Building Inspector will review bylaw changes before the May 26 meeting; the board will publish public notices in the Berkshire Eagle (first notice by May 18, second notice by May 25); a public hearing is scheduled for June 1 at 7 p.m. at the New Marlborough Fire House; and revised warrants must be provided to the Select Board and posted by June 10 to satisfy the 14-day posting requirement for a Special Town Meeting. Tara White of the Select Board will confirm the Special Town Meeting date depending on a School Committee update.

Vice chair candidacy and conflicts were noted: Jordan Archey reiterated that she will continue to recuse herself from discussion and voting on matters related to piggeries, as she has at prior Planning Board meetings. The Planning Board plans to finalize a presentation and outreach strategy at its May 19 and May 26 meetings.