Grafton Planning Board Action – Do Good Fences Make Good Neighbors?

by Kieron Kramer
When the great American poet Robert Frost wrote that “Good fences make good neighbors” he was undoubtedly not thinking of a fence made of salvaged blue garage doors like the fence erected by Rich Lundy on the property line with his neighbor Doug Pratt. Pratt owns the property that abuts the east side of the land on which Lundy hopes to establish a horse stable and trail riding business. He came to the public hearing on the Lundy site plan review that was held before the regular Grafton Planning Board meeting on Monday, April 16, and had his say.
[private]Reading from his written statement, Pratt presented a history of bad behavior by his neighbor, Lundy, who rents from the property owner Ed Kepner. It’s not just the garage door fence that Pratt has had to look at for more than two years; there was also a pile of manure near a streambed and the burning of brush piles with garage doors and old furniture in them. For his part, Pratt said that he and his wife Mary grow organic vegetables and have donated 15,000 plants to worthy causes over the years. He is aware of the contingencies proposed by the Planning Board that Lundy would have to meet on his site to make it a viable business and attractive to tourists and locals who want to do trail riding. He said that using the property for a trail riding business would be better than what has been done on the land before. “A riding stable would be welcome if done with respect to the land and the adjacent landowners,” he said. But he urged the Planning Board to delay approval of the site plan for a month until Lundy shows good faith by meeting the contingencies. Pratt included in his statement, “Rich and I will never be friends; my hope is we can be better neighbors.”
Patrick Kane had started the hearing by commenting that Lundy’s riding stable would be another positive attraction for the Town along with the Bird Paradise, the Peace Pagoda and the boat livery. Another neighbor of Lundy’s, Mr. Henderson, attended the hearing. During the regular meeting he said that he had no objection to the plan. “Sure he has done some things in the past, but everybody grows up,” Henderson said.
Even though there was no new business, the regular meeting lasted a lot longer than usual. Because it is trying to be fair and “make everybody happy” the Board addressed at length Pratt’s concerns about the Lundy site plan application. Planning Board Chairman Tom Withcuskey has contacted the Pittstown Supervisor and Code Enforcement Officer and said that Pittstown has no objection to the Grafton Planning Board being the lead agency because the stable and business operations will be located in Grafton even though most of the trails run through Pittstown. He has also inspected the site.  The site is “neat and orderly,” he said. He listed the contingencies that will accompany site plan approval. The manure pile will have to be removed, but because Grafton has a right to farm law, the pigs and other animals can stay. Lundy asserted that the manure pile has already been removed and the illegal burning of furniture no longer happens. A parking area will be designed and gravelled so that visitors will not have to park on the narrow road. The dogs that roam the property, which seemed well behaved to Withcuskey, will have to be licensed. If food is to be sold a separate license from the County will have to be obtained. Port-a-potties will have to be rented for the riding season. A  sign will have to be approved. Liability insurance must be acquired. Lundy will have to be responsible for the care of the horses.
Lundy said that he will post the trails to keep trail motorcycles off so they don’t spook the horses. The dogs will be tied up so as not to disturb the baby sheep and goats that children will visit. He has four horses and will rent the rest from May to October. If food is served it will be done by a hot dog vendor from a truck. He has already arranged for the gravelling of the parking area and has had the sign designed but said he was waiting for approval before spending the money on these projects and on an insurance policy.
One issue, Withcuskey said, is to move the process along so that the riding can begin on the holiday weekend (Memorial Day). After checking with Lundy about the feasibility of meeting the contingencies by May 21, the Board voted unanimously to approve the site plan as long as the contingencies were all met by the next regular Planning Board meeting on May 21. “These must be met by the next meeting, or it is a no go,” said Planning Board Member Jim Goyer. Planning Board Member Owen Grandjean said, “It seems like a neighbor issue; I am hopeful you can be good neighbors.” As he left the meeting Pratt said to Lundy, “Rich, better days ahead.”
Informal Discussions
During the informal discussion Wes Vars informed the Board that he wants to subdivide 3.68 acres from his 198 +/- acre lot on Snyder Road to give to his son Joseph. He brought a survey map of the small parcel but not a map of the entire parcel with the subdivision marked on it. The large map is required for subdivisions, and Vars said he would return with an appropriate map.
Realtor Tom Kiely aggressively questioned the Board about its policy of obtaining easements on roads where subdivisions are applied for. He wanted to know where the code supporting this policy could be found and stated that he thought the policy was applied inconsistently. Kiely was referring specifically to the discussion around the Halloran subdivision that had been tabled until the Town receives easements so that it can improve the road if necessary. It seems clear that the Board is trying to improve the roads in Grafton for health and safety reasons by obtaining easements and escrow deposits from new developers. The discussion ended when Withcuskey asked Kiely, “What is your position in this; are you selling property for Mr. Halloran?” Kiely replied, “Not at present.”
Jessica Crandall Moves On
At the end of the meeting Withcuskey announced that Planning Board Secretary Jessica Crandall is resigning from that position because she has received a promotion in her “full time job.” This was her last meeting. “She has been here for five years and has done a great job. She will be missed,” Withcuskey said. “We wish her all the best.”[/private]