From The Berkshire Eagle, December 19, 2003

Williams gets go-ahead from ZBA to exceed height limit for buildings

By Christopher Marcisz
Eagle Correspondent

WILLIAMSTOWN --The town Zoning Board of Appeals granted a request from Williams College to exceed the town's 35-foot height limit on individual structures for its sweeping plans to build a new library and academic buildings in the heart of campus.

Although details of the new buildings have not yet been approved, the college wanted approval to build higher as a green-light to proceed with its plans, which it says will help improve the aesthetic feel of the campus and improve its library, office and classroom space needs. The board approved changing the height restrictions for certain building "envelopes" at the sites, although there were some questions about the site footprints and discrepancies in some of the material submitted.

The college says it will build over the next six to eight years in four stages. First it will construct a new academic building just north of the current Sawyer Library, then build a new general library as an annex behind Stetson Hall. The college will then raze Sawyer and create a green space, though it will keep the basement as an underground storage facility, and then build an additional academic building just south of the site. The board approved a height limit that would be 14 feet higher than the cornice of Stetson Hall -- with an allowance for more if college officials decide to use pitched roofs.

The largest part of the project, the new library, will be built on a slope, with its entrance through Stetson Hall. The entire project will be approximately as high as notable central buildings on campus like Chapin Hall, Stetson and the Freshman Quadrangle.

Frank Grauman, of the Pennsylvania architecture firm Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, said without the higher height limit the college would have to meet its needs with more buildings covering a larger footprint. He said it is unlikely this alternative would be acceptable to the college. "This is a feasibility question of whether we can do this project at all," he said.

In its application, lawyers for the college note Massachusetts case law that discourages "town height restrictions [that] would impede educational uses by detracting from the building's usefulness, impose excessive economic costs, and impair the character of the campus, all without advancing any legitimate municipal concerns."

According to attorney Jamie Art of Grinnell, Dubendorf & Smith, compliance with the town's height restrictions would cost between $8 million and $10 million. "The current height bylaw is unreasonable as it applies to this project," Art said. The board raised some concerns about discrepancies in some of the materials that were submitted, notably between the footprint figures for the proposed south building in the original application submitted last month and those in the recommended language of the resolution introduced last night. "I'm not going to write you a blank check by agreeing to a height limit, ZBA Chairman Andrew Hoar said at one point in the discussion.

There were also some concerns about how many buildings would be allowed on each site. The board managed to agree on a compromise between the sets of figures. The project will still need to go through the regular permitting process. Building Inspector Michael J. Card said he was concerned about some of the inaccuracies, but that the project seemed sound. "It's very well-reasoned and it makes a lot of sense," he said. "I don't see anyone arguing with your logic or your reasoning."

The board had not received any correspondence on the proposed project, and no one in attendance spoke against it.

The board was also scheduled last night to consider the proposed expanded independent living project at Sweetwood retirement community. However, representatives of Northern Berkshire Health Systems asked for a continuance.