We are concerned that the March 2020 Norfolk Now article, Inn Owner Withdraws Zoning Request for Bakery and Cafe, regarding the Mountain View Green Retreat’s application for a special use permit, has several inaccuracies and omits key points, thus obscuring the nature of the issues raised by the application.

Mountain View neighbors want to foster and continue good relations, and everyone wants Norfolk businesses to succeed. Residential districts and business districts have been established under Norfolk’s zoning regulations to promote the most appropriate use of land in Norfolk. 

The application for a special use permit was for a retail bakery/grab-and-go/take-out breakfast-lunch operation, that is, a retail sales operation, from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., seven days a week. That the application proposed only three tables actually underscored the issue: a new business endeavor such as this one would rely on a constant flow of customers, not just a few people sitting down to enjoy the food they ordered. The proposed use is not a permitted use in a residential zone under Norfolk regulations and also is inconsistent with Norfolk’s 2019 Plan of Conservation and Development, which envisions such businesses being limited to the village business zone. The applicants’ proposal would substantially change the character of the use of the property by turning it into “a hub, a meeting place for people in the community,” and a place where people “regularly stop at in the morning,” and “a place to get a grab and go lunch” (quoting from the application). The proposal seeks an entirely different and greatly expanded customer base, in addition to their bed and breakfast guests. That is what the village business zone is for. Norfolk already has a Hub, which provides “a meeting place for the people in the community” and three businesses that supply services similar to those proposed by the applicants in the center of town.

Every Norfolk resident should be concerned about a case-by-case application of our land use rules, not only because it raises the specter of other ill-conceived expansions of land use in other residential neighborhoods, thereby threatening real estate values and the character of our community, but also because it affects how potential newcomers to town would view Norfolk as an option.

Finally, to correct an error in the March 2020 Norfolk Now article, Wendy Roberts never approached her neighbors about opening a retail bakery/café in their midst before the permit hearing was scheduled. The applicants only notified their neighbors in late November, 2019 in order to comply with notice requirements under Norfolk zoning regulations, although they had been working with the zoning commission since the summer.

It is easy to level an accusation of NIMBYism at those who opposed this proposed retail business. But it is exactly to avoid such situations in the first place that towns establish zoning regulations. That is, to make sure that our back yards stay back yards, and do not become business districts.

Megan Huddleston, Marie Christine Perry, Cheryl Hellman, Angela Matthews, Billy Matthews, Jean Crutchfield, Robert Hobbs, Judy Maxwell, Ruthann Olsson, Madonna Sullivan, Greg Kolakowski, Suzy Colt, Edward Colt, John Garrels, Sally Carr, Larry Hannafin