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Planning board votes to hold developer permits in Estates until deficiencies are fixed
Summary
After residents urged action on unfinished lots and safety hazards in Burning Tree Estates, the planning board voted unanimously to ask town departments to withhold permits issued to the developer until a cited checklist of deficiencies is satisfied.
The Great Barrington Planning Board voted unanimously to ask town permitting staff to withhold permits issued to the developer responsible for work in the Estates portion of Burning Tree until a list of outstanding deficiencies is corrected.
Board member (speaker 5) moved that the town "pull any and all of the permits including certificates of occupancy until the list that we have seen is fulfilled," a motion the board discussed and then approved by voice vote. Chair (speaker 4) clarified the board intended the hold to apply only to permits issued to or on behalf of the developer, not routine homeowner renovation permits.
Residents and HOA trustees had pressed the board for action during public comment, citing unfinished lots, dumping, and safety hazards. HOA trustee Stanley Brown (speaker 7) told the board he wanted developer accountability and supported the permit hold as leverage to force corrective work.
Staff (speaker 2) said the office had not formally released some certificates of occupancy and would coordinate with the building department on the board’s request. The board did not specify a numeric escrow or bond in the motion; members said additional investigation into the ownership trail of the original developer would follow.
The board described the action as a tool to protect homeowners and advance remediation of visible site problems; staff will relay the recommendation to the appropriate town departments and report back at a future meeting.
