Fitzgerald added that he thought some of the products to be sold would be grown at other farms, and noted that the applicant was a tenant and not the owner of the property. He appeared at the July 7 public hearing in Roxbury, and, according to meeting minutes, said that he had made the donation with the clear understanding that no commercial uses would be permitted at the site. Terry Fitzgerald of Bridgewater, an adjoining property owner to the Stuarts' leased farm on Town Line Road, was part of a group of donors that bought the property for the Bridgewater Land Trust. Martin admitted he did not know whether or not the application was still pending, or whether it had been withdrawn, based on word that the farm stand had been relocated to Bridgewater. "We're not sure what we're going to do," he said in a telephone interview. We are consulting with the town attorney because we don't know where that fits into town and state laws," Mr. "The other issue that we are looking into is the meat resale industry … they raise the beef and are selling it to stores and restaurants.
Martin in a telephone interview, adding that until that permission is received the application is basically moot.Īnother concern for some is that the Stuarts raise beef cattle, which are slaughtered off-site, and were planning to sell meat at the farm stand, with customers to include area restaurants and markets.
That was the initial red flag," explained Mr. They need approval of the Bridgewater Land Trust.
"One of the problems is that are not the owners of the property. In addition, to complete the application, the Stuarts, as tenants, would need to obtain permission from the Bridgewater Land Trust, the owners, for a change of use to turn the barn into a commercial venue. The commission asked for more information about the type and scale of the proposed operation, about the space to be used and about whether all the products sold would be raised or manufactured at the farm. The Stuarts have since relocated their farm stand to property owned by The Nature Conservancy on Northrop Street in Bridgewater, which has a less complex regulatory process for farm stands than Roxbury.Īs stipulated by Roxbury regulations, farmers must apply for a farm stand permit from the Zoning Commission, and the Stuart application came before the commission in a July 7 public hearing.Ĭommission chairman Scott Martin explained in a telephone interview that the commission had not yet made any decision on the application because it was incomplete. Although the protest never materialized, and was postponed until the land trust's September meeting, some complained privately that the closure of the farm stand represented an example of affluent weekenders pushing around area farmers. The closing of the stand caused some Bridgewater residents to threaten to stage a protest of a land trust meeting scheduled for July 15 at the Burnham Library. The details of who asked for the closing are unclear, but one underlying factor is that the stand apparently lacked the necessary land-use permit in Roxbury. Bill Stuart Jr., son of Bridgewater First Selectman Bill Stuart, and his wife, Debbie, shut down a farm stand on land they lease from the Bridgewater Land Trust that is just over the Bridgewater border in Roxbury.
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