LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Heated Zoning Board of Appeals meetings, which have already led to two lawsuits against the town, have now resulted in the resignation of a board member.

The board's former chair, Mark Siegars, resigned from the board on Monday.

The Berkshire Eagle reported he was removed as chair during an executive session a month earlier, but iBerkshires was informed Thursday, March 12, that Siegars voluntarily stepped back at the meeting. 

iBerkshires had reached out to the town administrator for confirmation on the resignation but she was out of the office and was not able to respond until Thursday.

Emotions have run high following contentious ZBA meetings held over the past several months, culminating in both businesses involved filing lawsuits against the town. More information here.

 

The rift started to develop in January during a meeting to determine whether the Lanesborough Local Country Store's sign on its vintage pickup truck violated town bylaws. The board ultimately voted to uphold the building inspector's citation.

 

The meeting resulted in two complaints to the town, following the nearly 40-minute discussion that had short bursts of yelling in between. 

 

The meeting was not recorded by the board or by LCATV and the town requested iBerkshires share its recording to provide the Select Board additional context surrounding the few complaints. 

 

It is not iBerkshires.com's policy to share unpublished recordings or meeting notes. However, iBerkshires.com did write an article outlining the argument.

 

According to The Eagle, all Zoning Board of Appeals meetings will now be recorded to ensure transparency. 

 

Tension continued to rise into February, however this time on camera, when Second Drop Farm went before the board to appeal a crease-and-desist regarding short-term rentals, which left many in attendance very frustrated. 

 

Following the board's vote that short-term rentals are not permitted, because the town does not have bylaws regulating them, the audience erupted in indignation with one attendee saying, "You are going to create war in this town." 

 

The decision split the board, Siegars and Ronald Tinkham voting to uphold the order; and Scott Graves voting to dismiss it. 

 

Alternate board member Leanne Yinger made a motion to dismiss the order, citing concerns that it was not properly issued and arguing that, in the absence of a bylaw, short-term rentals are not restricted. 

 

The motion was shut down by Siegars, who reminded Yinger that, as an alternate member, she does not have voting authority. The board consists of three voting members and one alternate, who serves in the event of an absence.

 

Following the meeting, a couple in attendance claimed that Siegars pressured other board members into the decision; Siegars denied the assertion.

 

Following Siegars' resignation, Yinger will now serve as a voting member of the board. Additionally, The Eagle reported that Select Board member Michael Murphy has proposed a warrant article for the annual town meeting to expand the Zoning Board from three to five members.

 

Town Administrator Gina Dario said on Thursday that the Select Board is seeking clarification on how to change the number of ZBA board members and confirmed that all ZBA meetings will be recorded from now on. 

 

Editor's note: Clarifications and updates were made to this article at 1 p.m. on Thursday, March 12, 2026.