Council refers rental zoning rule to Planning Board

Select Board · Meeting of July 15, 2026

NORTH ADAMS — The North Adams City Council referred a short-term rental zoning amendment to the Planning Board for a joint public hearing and postponed five other ordinances, including an AI oversight measure, to August and September meetings. Councilor Keith Bonham, chair of the General Government Committee, said he briefed the mayor, the city's IT director, Police Chief Bailey and Lieutenant Beverly on the proposed "Safe AI" ordinance, which would require human review of high-risk AI decisions affecting hiring, policing and public services; the council postponed it to the second meeting of September. Councilor Lillian Zavatsky questioned both the dog-kennel ordinance's pending state revisions and who was consulted on the AI language.

In public comment, Historical Society President Jim Bechtel said the organization is losing storage space at All Saints Episcopal Church, and resident Larry Morris said Meadow Street sidewalks have gone unrepaired for three years. The city clerk's office also reported receiving a state archival-assessment grant, with archivist Thomas Doyle set to visit July 17.

In the full story:

• Hearing of Visitors: Sustainability Commission and Conservation Commission Overlap
• Committee Reports
• Old Business: Dog Kennel Ordinance (Ollie's Law)
• Old Business: Short-Term and Long-Term Rental Ordinances
• Old Business: Safe AI Ordinance
• Open Forum: Infrastructure and Historical Preservation Concerns
• City Clerk Update and Councilor Updates
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 2,306 words

Source: the Select Board meeting of July 15, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript. It was corrected where it differed.