Greenfield Planning Board Advances Free Fridge Zoning Fix, Endorses Leyden Road Land Split

GREENFIELD -- June 4, 2026, Greenfield Planning Board clears a family land split on Leyden Road and directs staff to draft a zoning fix legalizing community free fridges. The board voted unanimously to endorse an approval-not-required plan submitted by Elizabeth Reed O'Neill for Assessor's Map 28, Lots 36 and 20, dividing a roughly six-and-a-half-acre wooded parcel into three lots, one intentionally unbuildable, and formally waiving the frontage requirement under Massachusetts General Law Chapter 41. Vice Chair George Palimpsis, chairing in the absence of Chair Jeff Sauder, led a lengthy discussion on a proposed zoning amendment brought by City Councillor Brown that would expand the roadside stand definition to allow donation-based free fridges, currently illegal under city code except for raw produce for sale. Brown cited a 48 percent food-insecurity rate in Hampshire and Franklin counties and identified a site at Solon and Coleraine streets, with the nonprofit Common Good offering to serve as fiscal host. The board reached consensus to pursue a site plan review framework rather than a special permit, keeping the use as of right while providing a public process for siting decisions; no vote was taken, and the item was continued to July 2. A separate draft zoning amendment clarifying local authority under the Dover Amendment, covering shelters, group homes, and sober homes, was also discussed at length but sent back to the planning director for further drafting, with the next meeting set for July 2, 2026.