North Adams committee votes to remove outdated smoke-abatement chapter from code

The North Adams City Council Codification Review Committee voted to delete Chapter 19 (smoke abatement and air pollution) from the municipal code after staff advised the chapter appears obsolete and state law and regulations already govern air-pollution controls.

Staff noted Chapter 19 shows no amendment history and likely dates to the original code; the committee agreed that statewide air-pollution regulations under the Massachusetts General Laws and the state Department of Environmental Protection cover emissions and that local language in the chapter is redundant. Members discussed and confirmed that kitchen and exhaust venting and related matters remain covered by inspection and building-code requirements.

The motion to remove Chapter 19 was moved, seconded and approved by the three members present (Councilor Blackmer, Councilor Brain and Councilor Shade). The committee instructed staff to ensure that any locally applicable inspection or building-code requirements remain enforceable through the standard inspection process.

Staff said the deletion will prevent the need to repeatedly amend a locally drafted chapter to mirror changes in state law; the committee recorded the deletion as approved and will direct clerks to remove the chapter in the next updated code draft.