ATHOL – The Zoning Board of Appeals granted one Special Permit and opposed another after the property owner walked out during his appeal Wednesday night.
Paul N. Euvrard of 18 Harvard Ave. was seeking a Special Permit for a retail business at 19 Harvard Ave. in the Residential A zoning district, using the property to cut and split cordwood provided by his son-in-law to be given away. Euvrard said the lot is for personal use and he was doing the special permit process “just in case somebody wants to buy a cord of wood.”
At the start of the continuation hearing, Board member Susan Mondi-Sykes read an anonymous letter from an apparent neighbor of Euvrard’s saying they couldn’t attend the meeting and personally objected to the special permit. They wrote that the sound of South Athol Road traffic is no longer blocked because of trees that were cut from the property. The letter-writer also called the lot “visually unappealing,” complained of the the sound of loud machinery occurring all day and that it was “devaluing” their property.
Euvrard provided the Board with his plans for the property which would include a chainsaw and splitter. Mondi-Sykes said the issue she has is that a retail business in the RA zoning district needs to have a house that it is connected to and the commercial truck parked on the property not owned by Euvrard, but his son-in-law, turns it into a transportation terminal. Euvrard said that it’s not on the street and that he sees commercial trucks parked like that all the time in town. Member Robert Mallet said it’s considered a principal parking location when the commercial vehicle is not on the job.
Mondi-Sykes told Euvrard that in his plans he didn’t include the days of the 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. hours of operation. Euvrard said he would remove the sign from the fence. Mondi-Sykes also said he would have to move the commercial truck, explaining that if the vehicle is owned by the person who lives there, it’s being parked there overnight but if it’s not Euvrard’s, it’s being stored there. Shortly afterward, Euvrard walked away from the hearing, resulting in the board declining the Special Permit, with one abstention (member Kala Fisher).
A public hearing was held for a Special Permit for Accessory Agriculture in a Residential C District for property located at 2402 Old Keene Rd. Property owner Donna Anderson said she was seeking a permit to have a horse and on the permit asked for up to two horses. Anderson, who has a dog kennel license, said she is building a new shed and using a wire fence that separates the area where the five dogs are kept. There will be an area with movable metal fencing for the horse around the 12’ x 30’ shed with a paddock. Anderson said the plan is to expand it out with additional fencing and that the whole front has been cleared for horses to graze.
Board member Fisher asked about potential parking. Anderson said there is plenty of parking already because it was set up for her dog training business.
Jeff Jobst of Old Keene Road said he has no problem with horses but was concerned about the potential for increasing the kennel size and wondered if the special permit for the horses would affect the permit for the dogs.
Mondi-Sykes said the kennel permit is done and not changing and that horses fall into the bylaw for Accessory Agriculture and there is no minimum acreage required as long as what Anderson proposes is only for horses. Existing permits cannot be taken away.
Responding to abutter’s complaints about her barking dogs, Anderson said they only bark when they’re playing and hasn’t received any police complaints. Mondi-Sykes said if Anderson gets a complaint, she would need to act on it. If she wants to increase her 2-horse limit, the permit would have to be amended, requiring another hearing.
The Board granted Anderson the Special Permit with the limit of two horses as outlined in the submitted plan, and the ability to add or subtract fencing that wouldn’t affect the previously permitted dog area.
The next Zoning Board of Appeals meeting will be held on Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. in Athol Town Hall Room 21.
The ZBA is looking to hire a secretary. Interested applicants can contact the Town Manager for more information.