A Planning and Zoning application to keep Strong on Center, a yoga and wellness business on Center Road, operating as a major home-based business has stirred heated public hearings, shouting matches and talk of lawsuits.
At the core of the controversy is a question of how Easton defines and permits major home-based businesses under its residential zoning regulations. Easton is zoned entirely for residential use, but its zoning code includes provisions for both minor and major home-based businesses, which allow residents to operate certain businesses on their property through special permits.
The business opened in 2019, but owners Kristen McGovern and Gary Smith only later learned it needed zoning approval to operate in a residential area. Since then, they have filed for a special permit under the rules for a major home-based business and done work to bring the center in compliance with wetland regulations. At the July 1 hearing, the Planning and Zoning Commission confirmed that Strong on Center has been issued four zoning violation notices and two cease-and-desist orders since 2022.
Strong on Center’s application has put a spotlight on Easton’s major home-based business permit process. Obtaining the designation would allow Strong on Center to continue operating under a special permit, as required for major home-based businesses. While some local farms also operate with special permits, they typically do so under different regulations — such as provisions for agricultural uses — not under the home-based business designation.
Easton’s zoning regulations define a major home-based business as one that exceeds certain size limits or is not conducted entirely within the home. This can include the use of detached buildings like garages or studios, but not outdoor areas by default. The rules prohibit visible signs of the business, such as outdoor activity or storage, unless fully screened, and require that noise or other impacts not be detectable off the property. All home-based businesses must also remain secondary to the residential use and be compatible with the surrounding neighborhood. Any outdoor use is subject to specific commission approval.
Hearings before the Planning and Zoning Commission have been continued three times, with tensions flaring at meetings. Residents claim the business violates residential zoning, creates noise, traffic and parking problems and devalues nearby homes.
After the June 17 meeting, a shouting match erupted in the parking lot between the owners and some neighbors, according to Center Road resident Frederick Lovejoy, who spoke in opposition to the permit at the July 1 meeting.
“There was a discussion outside afterward that evolved into a shouting match,” he said. “It devolved into something that shouldn’t have happened.”
The commission opened a public hearing on the application on June 3, continued it on June 17, again to July 1 and most recently to July 15 after McGovern and Smith requested a 15-day extension.
At the July 1 hearing, the owners addressed neighbor complaints and objections by offering to reduce parking and class sizes, plant arborvitae for privacy and noise reduction, and moving activities to the back of their property.
“We decided to put together something proper as far as concessions, where we will change the way we utilize our property and limit our customer use to the back of the property,” said McGovern.
They will eliminate seven parking spaces that are closest to the road and plant grass where those spaces were, she said. Four other parking spots will be limited to drop-offs and pick-ups and for children attending classes, according to McGovern.
They will also be planting more arborvitae to provide a buffer between their property and the neighbors, Smith said, noting the trees grow three feet per year dance and can reach 40 feet.
“If that doesn’t shield them, we can talk further down the line,” Smith said. “If there is any noise that goes beyond that barrier, we will dial it down. I will do anything to make you guys feel comfortable.”
McGovern added that class sizes will be limited to between eight to 12 students, and all parking will be moved to the back of the property, out of neighbors’ sightlines.
“So we are reducing our class sizes greatly, and we are hoping these adjustments will be big enough to make an impact,” she said. “We are always willing to talk about what else we could do to mitigate that.”
Despite the proposed changes, several residents remain opposed, arguing the business still doesn’t meet zoning rules for a home-based operation because it uses tents and containers outside the home. Some suggested relocating the business to a more suitable site like the shuttered Lakeview Orchards on Route 59 or the Easton Community Center. Supporters, meanwhile, say the town should embrace the center as a community hub for health and connection.
Easton resident June Logie, treasurer for Citizens for Responsible Government, said at the July 1 meeting that Strong on Center is “a new commercial business operating in a residential zone in Easton that does not allow commercial businesses.”
She said that approving the application would “reward their reckless behavior” and expose the town to legal risk. The town has not enforced violations issued to the business for the last three years, she said. “Our Planning and Zoning Commission is not protecting Easton zoning. Citizens’ lawsuits are.”
Several other residents reiterated Logie’s concerns about inspections, compliance and safety, and supported her suggestion that the business consider partnering with the Easton Community Center or explore different locations in Easton or surroundings towns. Some residents also expressed concerns about noise, parking and increased traffic.
Not everyone who spoke at the July 1 hearing opposed the application.
Easton resident Lisa Fayek, who was wearing a Strong on Center Warriors shirt, said “despite the bucolic beauty, Easton can be lonely and isolating,” and urged the commission to “look past the hyperbolic language and slippery slope arguments meant to stoke up fear, and focus your considerations and vote solely on the issue at hand.”
“Strong on Center offers a place for people of all ages and abilities from Easton and surrounding towns to connect and become physically and mentally healthy while still conforming to the ethos of our town’s character,” Fayek said. “You have a chance to improve the lives of our residents and improve our town while still maintaining Easton’s charm and beauty.”
Redding resident Céline Derreumaux also spoke in favor of the permit. “I don’t believe it will disturb the tranquility and the peace of the community. To the contrary,” she said. “Preservation to me is not about freezing time. It’s about moving forward together and building a stronger community.”
Center Road resident Steve Kidney, who opposes the permit application and lives across from Strong on Center, said he left the previous June 17 meeting early because he felt the commission was leaning toward approving the application with conditions.
“I truly don’t understand when our town zoning regulations don’t permit commercial zoning,” he said. The only way they should be allowed to continue to operate is if they conduct their classes in their garage or their home, he said. “That would be a home business. What they’re asking for is permission to run a commercial business.”
“No resident in our town should have their home’s peace and tranquility disrupted,” he said. “It’s unacceptable that my neighbors and myself must look upon and listen to a commercial business in our neighborhood and have our property values lowered.”
Ultimately, the decision before Easton’s Planning and Zoning Commission is not whether the town permits commercial businesses in residential zones — it does not — but whether Strong on Center qualifies for a special permit under the rules for a major home-based business. The regulations allow such permits with appropriate safeguards, provided the use complies with specific limits on scope, noise, traffic and location, although some opponents have raised questions about whether such conditions would be enforceable.
The next Planning and Zoning Commission hearing on the application is set for Tuesday, July 15.
Easton Courier staff contributed to this article.
