In a 296 to 199 secret ballot vote, residents voted to keep the ban, passed at the annual town meeting in May, on the sale of small plastic bottles that contain still water, sized 1 liter or less.
A local environmental group led the charge toward what is the first such ban in Berkshire County — and the fourth in the U.S. — citing a spiraling plastic waste crisis amid low recycling rates, as well as concerns about the safety of bottled water.
The ban was to begin May 1, with an exemption in case of emergencies, and a plan by the group to install water refill stations around town.
Opponents, led by town resident Laura Keefner, said the move be a financial hit to local businesses.
Others cited another problem: rusty water in Housatonic that has residents shopping for water.
"We as a society should not be limiting people’s rights."
Some said, however, that the ban would send people to other towns for the little bottles, and kill a good source of fundraising for groups such as the Boy Scouts.
Purchase foiled In a secret ballot vote requiring a two-thirds majority, residents killed the town’s plan to purchase an 8-acre parcel on Roger Road owned by Gary and Kristen O’Brien, which town officials said would "stop the clock on costs" of litigation by both neighbors and the O’Brien’s in an escalating neighborhood conflict over noise from their company, Irish Trucking.
The town was proposing to buy the land for $298,000 after the O’Brien’s appealed a Zoning Board of Appeals decision in land court that applied conditions to the operation of its equipment.
Zoning Board of Appeals member Michael Wise said the purchase was the most "sensible" route, and that it is "expensive to litigate over honor."