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| By Courtney Llewellyn Reminder Assistant Editor EAST LONGMEADOW Nearly 100 concerned citizens sat in the high school auditorium last Tuesday evening for the public hearing about the proposed home-based trade bylaw. The hearing lasted a little over an hour and both the Planning Board and the East Longmeadow Small Business Association (ELSBA) were pleased with the hearing's outcome. "People had legitimate questions," Sandro Meccia, owner of Mec's Landscaping and president of ELSBA, said. "It was definitely a positive hearing. I'm very happy with the outcome." Tom Morrissette, vice-chair of the Planning Board, agreed and said he thought the hearing went well. "We're always pleased to have the opportunity to explain and review proposals like this for the town," Planning Board Chair Marilyn Richards said. Richards kicked off the hearing by explaining that the purpose of the evening was to solicit public comment about the proposed bylaw and then determine if any changes need to be made in the Annual Town Meeting's warrant article concerning home-based trade in the form of an amendment. She added that the Planning Board would be gathering information at the hearing to figure out whether or not the board should endorse the article. She presented a brief timeline of how the new bylaw came into existence and what it entails. Richards then opened the floor for public comment. Pete Punderson, clerk for the Planning Board, read an e-mail from Bill Killoren of North Circle Drive, who could not attend the hearing. The e-mail outlined his concerns about what the bylaw would allow and listed a few suggestions on how the bylaw could be revised. Bill Mathison of Prospect Street was the first resident to approach the microphone. He asked if the bylaw limited the number of decibels of noise allowed by the trades. "I'd like to see that in the bylaw if it isn't already," he told the Planning Board. Richards replied, saying there currently is no reference to a decibel level in the proposed bylaw. He also asked about the width of trailers, since the length was already covered in the bylaw. "I've seen trailers wider than the trucks that park on Prospect Street," Mathison stated, "and I've seen a lot of close calls with traffic. It's only a matter of time before there's a serious accident." Morrissette told Mathison that the width of the trailers is regulated by the state's transportation department and therefore is not discussed in the bylaw. Mathison finished by stating, "I think the bylaw and the rules and regs are great but only if they're enforced. I have seen businesses ignore cease and desist orders. We need to know how to deal with complaints." Richards replied that complaints could be filed with the Planning Board, the building inspector and the police department. David Bressem of Maple Street raised different concerns. He said he was surprised by how many home-based trade businesses there were in his neighborhood once he started looking. He asked the Planning Board how the bylaw would be applied to corner lots, since the parking of vehicles and storage must be located behind the main structure of the property. "The back of the home is to the rear of the front of the house, regardless of the corner," Punderson said. "There are some places that won't be able to do it [get a special permit]," Morrissette added. "It's really a case by case basis." Bressem said he was in favor of having businesses like this town, but he's concerned that some businesses that currently exist won't after the passing of the bylaw. He also brought up the issue of lot usage. He explained that he figured out for most lots, the space allotted for parking of work vehicles totals 5.2 percent of the property in addition to the six percent set aside for storage. "In most cases, that's more than 10 percent of the yard," Bressem stated. "Not all businesses would use the total of parking and storage," Richards explained. Bressem's final question asked that if the bylaw is approved at town meeting, would it need to be approved by another body? Morrissette said yes, the Attorney General. Rocco Carabetta of Redstone Drive first thanked the Planning Board and ELSBA for their hard work on the bylaw, adding both groups did a "fantastic job." His concerns, however, were mostly about what would happen to businesses in violation of their special permits. "The town will have a special permit on the property," Morrissette explained, "and they can lose that permit." And if they continue the business?, Carabetta asked. "The bylaw puts a lot more teeth into what we can do," Morrissette continued. "We can take legal action." When no one else brought forward any concerns, Richards said, "We now have a major task before us. We need to review what was brought before us tonight." She added, "These businesses are already next to you, they're already there. The thought now is to enhance what's there." Richards described the hearing as "the calm before the storm" that will be the Annual Town Meeting in May. "I was expecting a little bit of negative feedback," Meccia told Reminder Publications after the hearing. "We've heard mostly confusion, not negativity, about this. We educated a lot of people on a lot of things." |