Editor’s note: The owner of N&C Equestrian at 422 Sport Hill Road and a co-owner of Greenfield Mill at 450 Sport Hill Road reside on the respective properties. The owners of the properties where Greenfield Mill and N&C Equestrian operate reside elsewhere in Easton. 422 Sport Hill Road is an agricultural property not a home-based business (see Easton’s zoning regulations for detailed information about zoning categories). OSHA does not actively monitor home-based businesses, but local referrals or complaints can fall under OSHA’s jurisdiction. – Posted Aug. 17, 2024
To the Editor:
I am a 40-year resident of Easton, an Unaffiliated voter and someone who has served on a variety of local boards, including the Zoning Board of Appeals.
I recently submitted this Letter to the Editor (July 18 Easton Courier) regarding my concerns about the carpentry shop on Sport Hill Road (SP 24-1): Letter: Former ZBA Chair Cites Concerns About Special Permit – Easton Courier.
Having attended years of town meetings and hearings, I have observed that most Easton residents favor keeping our town rural and residential. Yet, I have also observed the use of Special Permits that are in fact allowing creeping commercial development in our town.
The activities of the LLCs along Sport Hill Road (Greenfield Mill at 450 Sport Hill Road and N&C Equestrian at 422 Sport Hill Road) have alarmed and awakened townspeople to realize the risk and consequences of flawed regulations and an unchecked P&Z Commission.
When you read Easton Zoning Regulations #3350 and #5100, one is likely to conclude that a “home-based business” intuitively means both the homeowner and the business reside within the four walls of the same house.
This is not the case.
Easton’s regulations do not require the owners of 422 and 450 Sport Hill Road to live there. The regulations say only a resident or occupant needs to be there.
The owners of home-based businesses Greenfield Mill and N&C Equestrian live elsewhere in Easton. How did Easton get here? Maybe it was a lack of oversight, which I will address.
Easton is effectively permitting “tenant” manufacturing in residential areas with more to possibly follow. Greenfield Hill’s owner, Mr. Frank Lisi, also co-owns the house at 439 Sport Hill Road, directly across the street from his cabinet factory.
Can a live-in tenant (let’s call it a factory foreman) set up an LLC and get a Special Permit? It should be required that a home-based business must have the homeowner living with the business. This is the most responsible way to monitor all activities involved with the business – such as health and safety issues. It also means the owner is there to personally address the concerns of neighbors. Which brings me back to the issue of oversight.
OSHA does not monitor home-based businesses at any level and individuals on Easton’s P&Z want you to believe that through the Special Permit process they can and will control and monitor all activities of a major home-based business.
Easton is not capable now, nor is it likely in the future, of having the proper oversight protections associated with running a major home-based business or protecting residents from negative impacts that could happen – and have happened.
Ironically, that is the purpose of an LLC – to protect the owner from a negative occurrence. Said another way: the business owner is protected. Why aren’t you?
Our P&Z Commission has for years often ignored feedback at town and commission meetings. Our Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD) has continued to include a Town Center despite significant opposition. Our current P&Z model places too much power without enough accountability in the hands of a few appointed volunteers.
There are initiatives underway that would split the P&Z Commission into two separate and elected boards, one for planning and one for zoning. This is the best course of action for ensuring feedback is heard and plans reflect our collective input. Easton residents deserve the opportunity to evaluate, and hold accountable, candidates charged with making significant decisions that impact us all.
Tom Dollard
Easton
