Health inspector questions Planning Board's authority over La Fiorentina
Date: 10/29/2012
By Chris Maza
chrism@thereminder.comEAST LONGMEADOW — East Longmeadow Health Inspector Fred Kowal recently told the Planning Board he believed it was overstepping its bounds in regards to La Fiorentina, but Planning Director Robyn Macdonald indicated that he is misinterpreting the law.
Kowal stated in a letter to the Planning Board on Oct. 22 that according to statutory mandate, the Board of Selectmen, acting as the Board of Health, should be the regulatory authority for enforcement and administration of permits to operate food establishments.
"I have been an inspector for over 50 years. During that time, I've dealt with 25,000 food establishments. I find it strange that in all those years I've never had to deal with a Planning Board," Kowal told
Reminder Publications. "We're the permitting agency. We issue permits to open and permits to operate. That's all defined in statutory law. It's called the state statutory code and it's very specific. It delegates by mandate that the Board of Health should be the enforcement agency for food establishments, whether it be carnivals, restaurants, mom and pop stores, street vendors or whatever else."
The Planning Board and La Fiorentina owner Leo Daniele have been at odds over the past several months regarding various issues pertaining to his special permit and the renovations he is making to what will be his business' new location at the corner of Shaker Road and Chestnut Street. His plan is to move the business from its current location at 60 Shaker Road.
Kowal opined that through its dealings with Daniele, the Planning Board has put La Fiorentina through an "undue amount of delays and expense."
However, Macdonald stated that while the Board of Health has certain authorities, those do not trump the authority of the Planning Board.
"The Board of Health has authority relating to health issues, however, the Planning Board is the special permit granting authority (SPGA) for use," she said. "When a restaurant wants to open, it is subject to a special permit from the SPGA, which gives the Planning Board full authority."
In the letter Kowal also questioned the board's decision to designate La Fiorentina as a restaurant, stating that Massachusetts General Law Chapter 94 Section 9 states that the company qualifies as a bakery, not a restaurant, and therefore by definition is a retail establishment in need of a bakery permit, a retail permit "for sale of specialty foods, pasty, etc." and a food-service permit for coffee sales.
"Their principal operation is a bakery and by definition, a bakery is a retail establishment," he said. "I question why they put [La Fiorentina] under the classification of a special permit because as a retail establishment, it says that retail establishments do not require a special permit. I was puzzled when I read their special permit classification."
Kowal added that he is "not looking for a confrontation" with the Planning Board, but stated that he would like the Board of Health and the Planning Board to engage in discussions on how to make the town friendlier to businesses that want to establish themselves in East Longmeadow while staying within the parameters of Massachusetts General Law.
