Lenox Planning Board Unanimously Advances Two Zoning Bylaws to Town Meeting

LENOX — April 27, 2026 — Lenox Planning Board votes to send adaptive reuse and battery storage bylaws to May 14 town meeting. The board unanimously approved favorable reports on two zoning amendments Monday night, the first updating the town's Adaptive Reuse Overlay District for the first time since its 2008 adoption — adding flexibility for mixed uses and new construction on large parcels — and the second imposing a six-month temporary moratorium on commercial battery energy storage systems while the town develops permitting standards. BRPC planner CJ Haas presented the AROD changes, describing the most significant addition as giving the Select Board authority to permit uses "comparable in intent and impact" to those listed, without requiring future bylaw amendments for novel proposals. Town Planner Brooke warned that without the BESS moratorium, the town faces "a really odd situation" because state law now protects battery storage as a permitted use even though Lenox has no local bylaw framework to handle an application. Chair Dan McDonough was also reappointed as the town's BRPC delegate, following the commission's selection of Laura Brennan as its new executive director.