Planning Board

Egremont zoning map and property line map for South Egremont Village

Planning Board Invites Final Comments on Egremont's 2023 Comprehensive Plan

The Planning Board invites you to read and comment on the final draft of Egremont's 2023 Comprehensive Plan. You can leave comments from August 11 through Friday, August 25, 2023. See below how you can leave your comments; your unedited, anonymous comments will be included in an appendix to the Plan.

To read the Plan:

  • Download the PDF below to print (92 pages) or read online to access the Plan's interactive hyperlinks. The text in both versions is the same.
  • Visit Egremont's Town Hall Select Board office or the Egremont Free Library to read a printed copy on-site. Town Hall is open Mondays through Fridays, 7 AM to 3 PM. The Library is open Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, 2 to 6 PM, and Saturday, 9 AM to Noon.

To comment on the Plan:

  • Go to the Egremont Vision 2035 website, where you will find a link to a comment form. This link will be open from August 11 to August 25, 2023.

The Comprehensive Plan defines the vision, goals, and actions for the next ten to fifteen years. Prior community engagement - two public workshops and two questionnaires - and the input and feedback from the Comprehensive Plan Update Advisory Committee shaped the final draft.

Egremont August 2023 Comprehensive Plan Final Draft with Hyperlinks (PDF)

Egremont August 2023 Comprehensive Plan Final Draft Print Quality with No Links (PDF)


Agendas & Minutes

View the Most Recent Agenda and Minutes

Zoom Links to Video Recordings of Meetings

Click here to access Zoom recordings of meetings. To find a specific Planning Board meeting, scroll through the chronological list of all Zoom-recorded meetings. Note the passcode which you will have to type in.

Members

  • Matthew Bersani, Secretary/Treasurer
  • Donna Bersch, Associate
  • Jared Kelly, Chairman
  • Stephen Lyle, Alternate BRPC Delegate
  • Mary McGurn, BRPC Delegate
  • Edward Regendahl, Vice Chairman

Notice

The Egremont Planning Board has received a grant award of $54,000 from the Massachusetts Department of Housing & Community Development's Community Planning Grant program. Added to the grant is the Town's ARPA match of $6.000. 

The grant will enable the Planning Board to retain a qualified consultant to guide the process of updating the Town's Zoning Bylaws and Zoning Map changes, which are anticipated to result from the Vision 2035 Comprehensive Planning process, now underway.   The new grant will run through at least June 30, 2024.

Egremont vision 2035 visual

Updates on Vision 2035 Comprehensive Plan

Egremont Vision 2035 two public workshops, the first on Saturday, January 14, and the final on Saturday, March 11, saw 100+ Egremonters turn out for each and be heard by the planners for the Comprehensive (CP) and Open Space and Recreation (OSRP) Plans. 

In the first Workshop, they listened to the planners' presentations, asked questions, reviewed data, and left written comments on their visions and goals for Egremont. Click here for a video slideshow that recaps an energy-charged, positive morning spent with neighbors. 

The final Workshop, whose topics arose from the first Workshop and community-wide survey, asked small groups to come up with goals and actions to accomplish the visions for the following and to prioritize:

  • Housing
  • Economic Development (including agriculture)
  • Recreation
  • Land Preservation, Protection, and Stewardship (including agricultural lands and climate change)
  • Historic Preservation and Future Development (including building and site design and climate change)

CP and OSRP Comments on Boards from January 14, 2023, Public Workshop (PDF)

Comprehensive and Open Space and Recreation Plans Public Workshop #2 Discussion  Boards (PDF)

Comprehensive and Open Space and Recreation Plans Public Workshop #2 Handouts (PDF)

Comprehensive Plan & OSRP Surveys

The second and final community-wide questionnaire of Egremont homeowners, renters, business owners, students, and those who work in Egremont closed on May 1, 2023.

In conjunction with the Comprehensive Plan (CP) and Open Space and Recreation Plan (OSRP) March 11 Public Workshop, this second and last questionnaire was to help those immediately involved - planning consultants, advisory committees, and the Planning Board and Conservation Commission members - to test your thoughts on the goals, priorities, and options for zoning changes expressed by workshop participants.

The first community-wide survey closed on February 3, 2023. This questionnaire aimed to understand public opinions of Egremont's existing resources and identify opportunities and areas of need.

Access the tabulated responses from this first survey (PDF).

Access the tabulated responses from the second survey (PDF).

January Public Workshop Photo Recap

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March Public Workshop Photo Recap

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Egremont Vision 2035 Initiative

Egremont Vision 2035 Initiative is a collaborative planning process to produce a new Comprehensive Plan (aka Master Plan) and Open Space and Recreation Plan for the Town. The Comprehensive Plan, an undertaking of the Planning Board, will define the vision, goals, actions, and policies for the next ten to fifteen years. The last Master Plan was completed in 2003. 

Comprehensive plans define community needs and desires and develop a set of strategies and actions that support a community-defined vision and goals. The essential elements of a comprehensive plan in Massachusetts are defined by Section 81D of Chapter 41 of the Massachusetts General Laws. These elements are as follows:

  • A vision and goals statement
  • Land use
  • Housing
  • Economic Development
  • Open space and recreation
  • Natural and cultural resources (including historic resources)
  • Municipal services and facilities
  • Circulation (now often referred to as Mobility)
  • Implementation plan

The Open Space and Recreation Plan, an undertaking of the Conservation Commission, will focus on goals and steps to preserve and enhance Egremont’s natural resources and open spaces and meet the Town’s recreational needs for the next seven years. The last OSRP was completed in 2002. 

Throughout the process, which will end in the spring of 2023, public workshops will be posted with the expectation that these and other possible events will be online and in-person. Related documents will also be available for review on the website and here.

To help you keep up-to-date on the plans’ progress, participate in online questionnaires, view scheduled events and documents, and volunteer for a more active role in the process, go here: Egremont Vision 2035 Initiative Website. You can also subscribe to Notify Me on the homepage of this website to receive agendas, calendar postings (all meetings are open to the public), and news flash notices in your email inbox. All meetings are video recorded; you can find them on the Zoom Links page of this website.

Members of the Comprehensive Advisory Committee (appointed by Egremont Select Board)

  • Jared Kelly
  • Stephen Lyle
  • Jon Caplan
  • Jeff Lazarus
  • Roz Liston
  • Peg McDonough
  • Rich Montone
  • Bill Tynan
  • Julia Rasch
  • James Warwick
  • Eileen Vining

Documents Related to Comprehensive Plan

  1. Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee Meeting 20220922 Presentation (PDF)
  2. Comprehensive Plan and Open Space and Recreation Plan Joint Advisory Committees Meeting Presentation 20230215 (PDF)
  3. Comprehensive Plan and Open Space and Recreational Plan Joint Advisory Committee Meeting 20220808 Presentation (PDF)
  4. Egremont Vision 2035 Public Workshop 1 Presentationn Slide Deck (PDF)
  5. Egremont Vision 2035 Public Workshop 1 Talking Boards (PDF)
  6. Map of 2003 Developable Land in Egremont (PDF)
  7. Map of 2003 Egremont Land Use Referencing 1997 (PDF)
  8. Map of 2022 Egremont Land Use (PDF)
  9. Map of 2022 Unique Features in Egremont (PDF)
  10. Map of Open Space and Chapter 61 Lands as of January 2023 (PDF)

PB Functions Required by Statutes

  • To make careful studies,
  • To prepare plans for the resources, possibilities, and needs of the Town,
  • To act as Park Commissioner in the Town if so authorized,
  • To make a Master or Study Plan,
  • To have an official map prepared if authorized by Town Meeting,
  • To review and submit a report regarding the layout, alteration, relocation, or discontinuance of public ways,
  • To report annually to the Town Meeting regarding the condition of the Town

PB Functions Requiring a Public Hearing

  • To hear proposed zoning amendments in accord with Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 40A, Section 5,
  • To hear and decide applications for special permits as authorized by the Zoning Bylaw, in accord with Section 7,
  • To hear and review site plans as authorized by the Zoning Bylaw,
  • To hear and review subdivision plans as required in accord with Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 41, Sections 81Q and W,
  • To conduct any other hearing required by law.