The Planning and Zoning Commission will continue its public hearing tonight at 7 p.m. on Strong on Center’s application for a major home-based business permit.
Strong on Center, located at 248 Center Road, is a gym, yoga studio, and wellness center owned by Gary Smith and Kristen McGovern since 2019. The business includes a large outdoor tent used for classes and a storage container for equipment.
In 2022, town officials informed the owners they needed a permit, prompting a lengthy process of applications and compliance. Obtaining a major home-based business designation would allow the operation to continue under a special permit, similar to how some local farms and other businesses already permitted under the designation, said First Selectman David Bindelglass.
“We allow our farms to do that because we want our farms to survive,” he said, pointing to Silverman’s Farm as an example. “If they can’t do more than just farming, it’s hard for them to survive.”
There is also a woodworking shop in town that has several employees and is zoned as a home-based business, he said.
The major home-based business use is a relatively new designation, Bindelglass said. “That’s the kind of thing a truly rural town like this, and an agricultural town like this, wrestles with — how much is enough and how much is too much,” he said. “Those are difficult questions.”
The commission opened a hearing on June 3, when dozens of residents turned out to speak on the application. The majority spoke in favor of it, but some—including neighbors—opposed it, said Bindelglass.
The first two years were difficult because of lockdown restrictions, McGovern said, but they persevered, holding classes outside when necessary to adhere to social distancing protocols.
Preparing the application materials was a time-consuming process, she said. “Now we are finally at the process where we had to send letters out to the neighbors, we had to submit all of our paperwork to the town and go before the commission.”
“We are going to do our best to make it beautiful,” McGovern said. “We haven’t been able to because we had to halt everything when we were working with wetlands, getting silt fences up and getting it cleared. We will be happy to make it more beautiful.”
When they first opened, they did not think that it would become as big as it had, McGovern said. The early years were focused on survival due to the pandemic, she said.
“We are just this year kind of making headway,” she said. “It was like starting all over again.”
Most of the operation is located in the back of the property, deliberately situated to be as unobtrusive as possible for the neighbors, she said. Sound tests indicate that passing traffic on Center Road is louder than any activity from the business, she added.
They have considered relocating, but McGovern said rental prices in nearby towns like Monroe would be too high and that it would be difficult to retain their current clients.
“We have built up a community here,” she said. “We are so proud of what we have done because it’s really a missing component. Greiser’s brings it together, and I feel like we are in the perfect place. We are not causing problems, and we are doing our best to mitigate any issues neighbors have.”
The application highlights a broader discussion in Easton about how much commercial activity is appropriate within residential zones. As town officials and residents weigh the request, the debate reflects an ongoing effort to balance support for local businesses with preserving Easton’s longstanding rural character and land-use traditions.
“The town has to decide and we have to decide what’s OK and what’s not,” Bindelglass said. “It’s a balance. I think having something like that is good for the town, but there has to be rules, and they have to follow the rules.”
“The zoning commission really has to decide if there is a way to have this that is compatible with our rules, and that is a determination they need to make,” Bindelglass said.
You can read the agenda here and find information about the Zoom link here.
