The owners of a health and wellness center have withdrawn their major home-based business zoning application that drew both support and opposition at its three nights of public hearings.
Gary Smith and his partner Kristen McGovern started Strong on Center in 2019 at their home at 248 Center Road, offering fitness training and yoga classes in the yard behind their home. Classes were held in a tent, and they brought in a portable toilet and a storage container where they kept their equipment.
When the pandemic hit a year later, the business scaled back to meet pandemic restrictions. As the pandemic subsided they began to return to normal operations, but in 2022 zoning and wetlands officials notified them that they were not in compliance with regulations and needed to submit an application to both the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Inland Wetlands Commission.
That was the start of a three-year effort to bring the business into compliance and to obtain a major home-based permit to operate. The Planning and Zoning Commission opened the public hearing on its application, which drew both fervent supporters and angry neighbors who spoke over the three nights of the hearing on June 17, July 1 and July 15. While many residents have acknowledged the center’s benefits, they have also questioned how the town ensures fairness, safety and enforcement when businesses operate outside established zoning processes.
The June 17 meeting saw the highest turnout, with 35 public comments recorded. Minutes and video recordings showed the following breakdown: June 3 had eight speakers (five in favor, three against), June 17 had 33 speakers (18 in favor, 15 against), July 1 had 13 speakers (three in favor, 10 against), and July 15 had eight speakers on the permit application (one in favor, seven against). According to the video recording of the July 15 meeting, six of the eight speakers had previously addressed the commission.
At the core of the controversy was 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.
McGovern said it was becoming clear that it would be difficult for the pair to overcome the obstacles to receiving the permit and they subsequently withdrew the application.
Now Smith and McGovern are focusing on finding a more appropriate location for the business, preferably in Easton. To that end, they have approached the Aquarion Water Company about renting the former Aspetuck Apple Barn at 714 Black Rock Turnpike, which Don Simpson ran until fall 2024, well after a 2021 illness.
A July 9 open house at the barn, 5,521-square-feet retail space that includes 1,296 square feet of barn space for storage, drew about 30 attendees.
“Our hope is to get into the Apple Barn on Black Rock Turnpike,” said McGovern. “If we don’t get in there, we are not sure what we’re going to do, so we have a lot of hopes and aspirations for the Apple Barn.
“We tried our best to make our neighbors happy but nothing really ended up doing it in the end,” she said.
They have put in an application to lease the Apple Barn space, but they’re facing competition, said McGovern.
“We submitted a rather elaborate application to Aquarion. We’re just waiting for their response. There are three other applicants,” she said. “We’re considering other options, but we would love to keep it in Easton because Easton needs a community connection.”
They also would be interested in potentially relocating to the Easton Community Center.
“We have already reached out (to the Community Center) but we haven’t heard back,” she said, adding that it’s been about a month since she contacted them.
Zoning Enforcement Officer Johnathan Rosenthal told the Planning and Zoning Commission at its Aug. 5 meeting that the tent and portable toilet are gone from the McGovern’s Center Road property and the area where clients parked is being restored to grass.
“They are working to remove the driveway that was installed before the issuance of the violations,” said Rosenthal, adding that because it is a regulated wetland area, Smith and McGovern will have to return to the Inland Wetlands Commission to discuss how to proceed.
Neighbors are concerned about how long it will take to restore the property to as it was before they started the business, he said, adding that it is expected to be completed within 120 days.
“They have a schedule they’re going to adhere to to get it out of that property,” said Rosenthal.
Planning and Zoning Commission Chairman John Foley said the Strong on Center’s application was one of the most difficult applications the commission faced. “There was a tremendous amount of support and it was welcome in the town, it was just the location,” he said.
He acknowledged that there was some fierce opposition to the application.
“About 90% of it was very factual and cordial,” he said. “ I know for some people it was very difficult, both sides were emotional.”
Relocating to the Apple Barn “is not straightforward as well, but I think it is something we could look at,” said Foley.
