Town leaders in Lenox — working with Lee and Williamstown — and Stockbridge, on its own, are planning to explore the pros and cons of participating in the state’s voluntary Seasonal Communities program.
They are among the 18 towns in Berkshire County and 43 statewide designated as eligible. So far, 14 of the 43, all on the Cape and the Islands, are taking part.
The designation is an outgrowth of Gov. Maura Healey’s Affordable Homes Act, a state law approved by the Legislature in early 2024, aimed at towns heavily impacted by seasonal tourism and facing especially challenging housing shortages and unaffordable prices for working families.
Eight Berkshire towns, including Stockbridge, were among the first 25 designated statewide because of their many part-time residents, while Lenox was part of a second group of 10 county communities added to the list last month.