Enforcing Our Bylaws

By Sally Underwood-Miller

I imagine you have received several communications regarding this sad turn of events [demolition of the Daniel Chester French garden structure]. I am writing in part because I am distressed that this representative of the history of our town has been lost, but also as a long-time member of the Conservation Commission (ConCom) where we way too often see applicants who profess to be (or, perhaps, actually are) ignorant of the laws and bylaws in our town.

As Chair of the Community Preservation Committee (CPA), while I seriously doubt financial considerations were a factor, we could have assisted the property owner in a quest to preserve this building.

As a member of the ConCom, the destruction of trees, open space, habitat, and aesthetic beauty of our town is of paramount concern to me. Trees are being cut down (yes some are diseased) and every square inch of buildable land is being scooped up, too often without permits in place, by people for whom money is no object, driving housing prices even higher and more unaffordable.

Our quaint little town, one everyone professes to adore and value, is changing in ways that will soon make it unrecognizable.

While this is not all related to Daniel Chester French's pavilion, it is, nevertheless, a sad state of affairs infecting our small town. If the rural and historic nature of the town is not of value, why would anyone want to move here? New citizens need to become stewards of this very special place. Many of the newly renovated and built houses are a testament to the attitude that money can buy anything, when, in fact, it is often destroying the very fabric of our town.

We need young families, with children who attend our schools, who can serve on our Fire and Police departments. There was a time when the police and firefighters knew their neighbors — knew if they had children or dogs, knew who the stray horse or cat belonged to, knew when a troubled teen was not a bad kid, just one who was angry about a divorce or had a substance abuse problem and took steps to help. Now most of our citizenry are second homeowners who don't even vote!

We need to educate, prioritize, and get our act together before it's too late. We need to further limit the size of structures on a lot, we need to beef up the bylaws that are in place to protect our lakes and streams, we need to figure out what's going to replace the ashes and hemlocks, we need to revise and rethink many of our bylaws, we need to create housing for moderate-income families... I'm not suggesting we return to Norman Rockwell's Stockbridge, only that we do what we can before we lose it altogether.

Editor's note: Thank you, Sally, for this excellent contribution to SU and your many years of service to Stockbridge.

Photo: Lionel Delevingne