Stephentown ZBA Upholds Stop Work Order On Wood Shavings Mill

by David Flint
The Stephentown Zoning Board has rejected an appeal from the Z And D Wood Shavings Company that they be allowed to continue their operation on Jones Road. At their meeting on December 3, the Zoning Board of Appeals, with Joseph Champion chairing in the absence of Jack Liebenow, voted unanimously to uphold a stop work order issued earlier by Code Enforcement Officer Dean Herrick. Other members of the Board present were Robert Mittnight and Richard Sime. James Ayling filled in as the designated Alternate since Fred Wallbank had just resigned.
Owners of the company, Zach Leonard and Dave Smith, had contested that they should be allowed to run their mill in an area that is zoned residential because their wood shavings are sold to farmers for animal bedding and therefore the business should be considered an agricultural use and protected by the Right to Farm Law.
Leonard acknowledged at the meeting, however, that he had learned that the State Department of Agriculture & Markets did not agree with that interpretation. Officials there told Leonard that there was a “fine line” as to what is considered agricultural use, but they classified the wood chipping business as a processing operation rather than agricultural.
Following the vote to uphold Herrick’s order, Mittnight said he was an old cow farmer and didn’t like to say no on this, but the Board’s hands were tied in the absence of some support from Ag & Markets. Urged on by several neighbors and supporters of Z and D at the meeting who thought they should at least be given time to pay off some of their expenses while looking around to relocate, Mittnight sounded like he might be amenable to a compromise, perhaps allowing another six months of operation. But Marc Franco, one of a group of neighbors who objected to the noise from the mill, pointed out that the Board had already made their decision and could not allow the mill owners to continue breaking the law for another six months. Brian Baker supported this position saying the Board had no authority to grant what would amount to a de facto use variance. He suggested the Board get a legal opinion from attorney Craig Crist if they felt they wanted to pursue this further.
The Board decided, however, to let their order stand affirming the stop work order. Champion said that it would have been prudent for someone setting up such a business to do it in an area zoned industrial and that if Z And D had financial problems they had brought it upon themselves. Ayling noted that Leonard and Smith had not contacted Ag & Markets until after they were served with a stop work order. He suggested they could check with their own attorney to see if they had any legal alternative.
There was some discussion among those at the meeting about the irony of blocking the wood chipping operation on one side of Jones Road whereas just 50 feet across the road in a Rural Use zone it would be OK. Winn Means pointed out however that a saw mill in a RU zone would still require a special use permit and, located so close to a residential zone, such a permit could reasonably be denied.