Great Barrington Select Board Approves Oak Street Group Home Driveway Permit Over Neighbor Objections

LENOX — May 13, 2026 — Great Barrington Select Board reorganizes, approves group home driveway permit, and confronts override fallout. At its May 13 meeting, the board elected Steve Bannon as chair and Eric Gabriel as vice chair, then unanimously approved a driveway permit for the Oakdale Foundation at 16 Oak Street after the nonprofit group home operator acknowledged building a front-yard parking pad without a permit and agreed to reduce it to the 16-foot zoning maximum, reseed the excess area, and install a split-rail fence. Neighbor Roger McDonald, representing the estate of Patricia Ryan at 14 Oak Street, argued the expansion was inconsistent with the Hill neighborhood's historic character but acknowledged no current bylaw enforces design standards there. Town Manager Liz Hartzberg announced a MassDOT public hearing on the Cottage Street Bridge replacement for May 21, a new affordable housing RFP accepting proposals through June 30, and confirmed the town's FY27 budget page now lists all programs canceled after voters rejected the Proposition 2 1/2 override the previous day; a joint Select Board-Planning Board workshop is set for June 1.