By Tom Dollard, Easton resident
Former Chairman of Easton Zoning Board of Appeals
Posted in the Patch (see link below) Tue, Jul 9, 2024 at 7:28 pm ET
On Tuesday, May 28 the Easton Planning and Zoning Commission approved a special permit for Greenfield Mill, a custom woodwork and cabinetry business which is operating in an Easton home.
The meeting was covered in an article written by Jarrod Wardwell in the Connecticut Post on June 15. That article quoted John Foley, P&Z chair as saying: “I think this is a natural…”
I disagree.
The “major home-based business” permit was granted on a 3-2 vote because the activities involved in manufacturing custom furniture had had an adverse effect on the residents living
in the home.
The remedy sought by the permit was to move the business out of the home and into a separate factory building on the same lot. All of Easton is zoned residential. Commercial buildings are
not permitted.
I have lived in Easton for more than 40 years and have served on several boards and commissions. Most recently I was the Chairman of The Zoning Board of Appeals. I am experienced in the legal boundaries Easton has established to remain a rural, farming-orientated community.
The concept of a “home-based business” in Easton’s zoning regulations inherently demands that the business activity be fully ‘in the home’ because it acts as a natural check on the activities involved in the business. The logical assumption is that the homeowner will not do anything that might negatively affect or endanger their family.
In this instance, that is exactly what has happened. The owner’s business made the home-based business uninhabitable.
Rather than grant a special permit, the remedy should be to relocate the commercial business to a town that has commercial zoning.
Finally, should Easton’s Planning and Zoning Commission want to support commercial development, they should do it with residents having the final say through the appropriate process. This permitting process fails to meet the standards or adhere to the guardrails that Easton has relied upon for decades.
Tom Dollard
Former Chairman, Zoning Board of Appeals
