PITTSFIELD — The state has designated 10 additional Berkshire County towns as seasonal communities, potentially giving them access to a set of tools to fight the housing pressure wrought by seasonal vacancy.

Gov. Maura Healey on Tuesday announced an update to the seasonal communities designation, adding 18 towns to the list statewide. Alongside the additional towns, a new Seasonal Communities Grant was introduced, and the program — which will give out up to $175,000 per town for the year — is accepting applications.

Before the announcement, eight Berkshire towns had been deemed eligible to be designated as a seasonal community. Towns first have to vote and accept the designation to use the additional tools afforded to the communities. So far, none have.

Although finalized regulations from the state aren't slated to come out until Dec. 31, seasonal towns will likely have access to tools to support and create more workforce housing, increase property tax exemptions and more.

The Roadside Store & Cafe in Monterey sees an intense influx of patrons during the summer months when the seasonal community takes the town by storm. Monterey was initially designated as a seasonal community but has yet to accept the designation.

Initially, the eight Berkshire County towns with a seasonal vacancy rate higher than 40 percent received the designation.

This left out the towns that were really feeling the pressure of seasonal homeowners, like Great Barrington and Lee, said state Rep. Leigh Davis, D-Great Barrington.

"[They] are the ones that so many other towns depend on and to not be counted as a seasonal community just didn't make sense," she said.

So the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, which outlines the designation and its regulations, added in new ways to qualify. Now towns that have a seasonal vacancy rate of 12.5 percent or higher and a short-term rental rate of 3.25 percent or higher can be designated.

After the updated guidelines, 10 additional towns can vote to accept the designation. Egremont, Great Barrington, Lee, Lenox, New Marlborough, Richmond, Sandisfield, Sheffield, West Stockbridge and Williamstown are the additional towns.

Ed Augustus, the Massachusetts secretary of the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, said in a prepared statement about Tuesday's update that the state is determined to help tourist-driven communities overcome their unique housing challenges.

Ed Augustus, the Massachusetts secretary of the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, was on hand Thursday to mark the opening of The First, a first-of-its-kind housing resource center at Zion Lutheran Church in Pittsfield.

“This designation gives those places specific tools to protect their year-round housing stock and support local workers who need places to live," said Augustus, who was in Pittsfield on Thursday to mark the opening of The First, a housing resource center. “[The office] is working hard to help ensure that these communities remain real year-round places where teachers, first responders, service workers and longtime residents can afford to live — not just seasonal destinations.”

Almost every southern Berkshire County town can vote to accept the seasonal communities designation.

"The opportunity for Great Barrington to vote to designate itself a seasonal community is an opportunity to address issues critical to the town," said Peter Most, the chair of the town's zoning board of appeals.

"Having the seasonal community designation will finally let Great Barrington build the housing in it needs for its local workforce," he said.

If a town chooses to accept the seasonal designation, it'll have access to tools like installing a local worker preference and increasing local housing subsidy cutoffs to 250 percent of the area median income.

Workers that support these seasonal towns often can't live in the area, Most said, something that can be mitigated with the tools seasonal communities have.

The Seasonal Communities Grant also will give towns that have accepted the designation funding to complete planning work, direct housing activities and aid in infrastructure projects.

There will be $2 million available for fiscal year 2026, according to the program's information sheet. Right now, no Berkshire County towns are eligible because they have not accepted the designation, but eligible towns can receive between $50,000 and $175,000 for the year.

The big thing the designations gives to towns are "real tools and real flexibility," Davis said. "[It] gives them basically a fighting chance to go up against the pressures of second- and third-home owners."