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Date: 7/19/2022
MONSON – After the Monson Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) continued a public hearing over the appeal of two enforcement orders against the Quaboag Riders on June 23 because of the size of the crowd that gathered, the board voted during its July 14 meeting to overturn both decisions in favor of the Riders.
Much like the June 23 meeting that was continued, the Quaboag Riders and their supporters came out in droves to support the overturn of the violations as they lined Main Street with signs and their motorcycles.
Inside Memorial Hall, the ZBA was faced with two questions – the first one being if the regular use of the hill for motorcycles and the use of the hill had changed since 1970, when the town enacted its zoning laws. The second question was if the use of four-wheeled vehicles was outside the use for the hill climb.
Frank Fitzgerald, the attorney representing the Quaboag Riders, noted that one of the complaints was that the Riders had been bringing in dirt from an outside source to maintain the hill, which he disputed.
“This bylaw specifically exempts removal incidental to the transfer of earth material from one part of the parcel of land to another. What you are seeing here is the transfer of earth from the bottom of the hill to the top of the hill as the land flows to the bottom,” he said. “There has been no substantial change in the hill or it’s configuration.”
Following Fitzgerald’s opening argument, he deferred to Rob Levesque of R Levesque associates who provided images of the hill from 1990 to 2021 through geographic information system (GIS) mapping. Through the images, Levesque showed that the hill stayed in the same area of use with minimal encroachments out of the initial area, with one clearing where vehicles turn around at the top of the hill.
Fitzgerald added that the claims against the club were not backed by any significant proof.
“The hill climb has been in use since the 1940s and it’s part of the history and the culture of this town. The enforcement order for regular use of the hill is not supported by any factual evidence and there is no evidence of a substantial change in the use,” he said.
The attorney for the abutters that submitted the complaint, Christopher Myhrum, said that their concern was over the four-wheeled vehicles being used at the property, specifically with the fact that those vehicles were considered not an acceptable use after the zoning bylaws went into effect.
“This is from the Rider’s webpage GoFundMe, and it expressly states that in the 1970s truck climbs were added to the schedule, that’s after the initial date of zoning in Monson, Nov. 19, 1970. This is from Motor Trend magazine where it expressly states 4x4 truck hill climbing started in 1978,” he said.
During the public comment section of the meeting, all the speakers spoke in favor of overturning the zoning violation.
Former Quaboag Riders President Richard Baer said the club has always gone to the Select Board to receive approval for their events.
“This town has been giving us permits to run these events for 30 years, it’s not like this just came up, the town’s given us permission to run these 4x4 hill climbs,” he said. “We always approached the town, got our permits and ran our events, if there was a problem, we would settle the disputes.”
ZBA Chair David Beaudoin said that he thought the complaints were brought forward because of how the club has treated its neighbors when they have had problems.
“I think there’s a lot of problems with the way it was handled, remember with the virtual meetings we had quite a few complaints and they all come on with the why’s and the how’s and the when’s? I think that had a lot to do with it. If you guys want to straighten up your act out there and help the people that live there, I don’t think it would be a problem,” he said.
Speaking to the area where vehicles turn around at the top of the hill, ZBA member Heather Wilson said it did not seem like it was outside the existing use of the property. In terms of changes to the hill, the entire board agreed that it looked similar to the way it always had, which led to a unanimous vote to overturn the general use enforcement order.
Board member Teresa Sobanska-Hynkiw said she was still worried about some of the uses on the property, despite voting in favor of overturning the general use enforcement order.
“I have a concern about the silt and the going down the hill and the heavy use of the four wheelers, the neighbors being blocked into their driveways, that is an issue, and it is detrimental to what it used to be,” she said.
Beaudoin added that he believed the club had been using four-wheelers long enough and that it was within the use of the property.
“I believe Mr. Baer when he says they were doing this and I believe they have been doing four-wheelers and ATVs (all-terrain vehicles) and all of that stuff, they’ve been doing that for quite a few years,” he said.
The board ultimately voted 4-1 – with Sobanska-Hynkiw opposed – to overturn the enforcement order that four-wheeled vehicles were not an acceptable use for the property. With the votes, the club is able to resume all activities.