Lenox ZBA Continues Housatonic Street Hearing and Zoning Administrator Talks to August

Zoning Board · Meeting of July 8, 2026

Lenox Zoning Board continues 165 Housatonic Street special permit hearing to August 26 and defers zoning administrator decision. Attorney Jeff Lynch, representing the applicant for a renovation and rebuild at 165 Housatonic Street, told the board at its July 8 meeting that the project is still pending before both the Planning Board and Conservation Commission, and asked that the ZBA — "the last board of approval" — wait until those processes conclude before proceeding. The board, meeting with a full five-member quorum, unanimously scheduled its hearing for August 26 at 6:30 p.m.

The board also voted unanimously to continue its multi-week deliberation on whether to appoint a zoning administrator — a position authorized by a town meeting supermajority vote — to that same evening at 6 p.m., pending town counsel guidance on whether the ZBA's supermajority voting requirements would apply to a single administrator's decisions and whether an administrator could decline to rule and refer a matter to the full board. The administrator stipend is set at $500 per year; the current application fee is $500, and staff suggested raising it to $600 to cover potential double newspaper-posting costs if an administrator's decision is appealed.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
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• The complete report — 1,973 words

Source: the Zoning Board meeting of July 8, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.