Lenox Conservation Commission Unanimously Approves Interlaken Road Phase One Stormwater Permit

LENOX — April 28, 2026 — Lenox Conservation Commission approves stormwater permit for large Interlaken Road development's first phase. The commission voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a stormwater management plan for 35-37 Interlaken Road Realty Trust under the town's local stormwater bylaw, the first formal approval for a phased development that has drawn sustained public scrutiny over its proximity to Stockbridge Bowl and Lake Averick, the town water supply. Consulting reviewer Dave Cameron told the board the project site drains to Stockbridge Bowl, not Lake Averick, and that the commission's groundwater protection authority is limited to enforcing performance standards for jurisdictional resource areas — none of which have been triggered by phase one. A member of the public questioned whether phased review was lawful under the town's bylaws and the Wetlands Protection Act; Cameron said the act does not prohibit sequencing and that the commission's only current jurisdiction is the local stormwater bylaw. A second public commenter presented an informal review of well-drilling logs suggesting limestone dissolution features as deep as 344 feet beneath a nearby property, raising questions about subsurface water connectivity the commission said would be addressed in the full notice of intent still to be filed. Separately, a commission member withdrew a motion to reduce a contested parking area in the Westdale Road conservation restriction to 0.25 acres after fellow members said the Laurel Hill Association and the Stockbridge Land Trust needed to meet directly before any vote.