By Susan MacEachron

The Planning & Zoning Commission held a public hearing and approved the construction of a new barn at 879 Winchester Road at a meeting on Nov. 18. An application for construction of a new storage facility at 330 Greenwoods Road West was accepted.

Joanne Charon, who operates a farm at 879 Winchester Road, described her plan to build a new 24-foot by 36-foot barn and reconfigure her parking area. When queried about customers, Charon said she has from one to five participants in a community supported agriculture (CSA) program and an orchard where 15 to 20 people come to pick apples during the fall.

Several of Charon’s neighbors attended the meeting and expressed concern about the impact of run-off from the farming operation into Beecher Pond. Charon said she uses only organic fertilizers and did not believe she was the cause of trouble in the pond. The neighbors also said that Charon’s farming enterprise was changing the residential feel of the neighborhood. P&Z Chair Chris Shaut said that the only matter before the commission was the request to add a new structure and not how the property was being used. P&Z unanimously approved construction of the barn.

Michael Halloran, representing George Auclair, owner of George’s Norfolk Garage, presented an application to build a second storage facility at 330 Greenwoods Road East. The building site is in a commercial zone across Route 44 from Auclair’s gas station and garage at 319 Greenwoods Road East. The application to modify the special permit granted in March 2022 would allow construction of an additional 50-foot by 80-foot storage facility at the location. Halloran said the new building would be the same type of construction as the existing building.

In addition to P&Z approval, Halloran said the project would need a variance from the required setbacks by the Zoning Board of Appeals. The proposed variance is like the one approved by ZBA in 2022 and is necessary because the lot is very narrow. Zoning Enforcement Officer Stacey Sefcik said a meeting of the ZBA was scheduled for Dec. 4 prior to the next P&Z meeting on Dec. 9.

The commission members expressed concerns about the Family Dollar trailer truck being stored at 330 Greenwoods Road East and noted that in his 2022 special permit public hearing Auclair had said that the building would be used only to store his own vehicles. Halloran noted that the 2022 special permit approved by P&Z did not place any conditions on the storage facility. However, Chair Schaut made it clear that if the truck wasn’t removed from the property Auclair could expect to receive a notice of violation from Sefcik.