Board of Health approves variance allowing dogs outside at Starbucks
Date: 9/11/2012
By Chris Maza
chrism@thereminder.comLONGMEADOW — The Board of Health voted on Sept. 6 to approve a variance that would permit the Starbucks coffeehouse at the Longmeadow Shops on Williams Street to allow dogs in its outdoor seating area.
The board voted unanimously in favor of the motion, which was the first of its kind, after discussing and making amendments to a draft document modeled after regulations recently passed by the town of Salem.
"We took the document from another community that went through this and changed some of the wording to more adequately suit our town's needs," Health Director Beverly Hirschhorn told
Reminder Publications.
The actual regulations were not available as of press time, Hirschhorn explained, because they needed to be re-drafted and agreed upon by Starbucks management. Starbucks must also sign a written agreement with the town, which must then be counter-signed by the Board of Health, she added.
The regulations will become effective upon the date of their publication in a newspaper of record and Hirschhorn said that she anticipated they would be published through The Reminder "within the next few weeks."
Starbucks will also be required to erect a sign outlining the major regulations stipulated in the variance and written agreement.
The board agreed to make the variance of a temporary trial variety with an expiration date of seven months from the date the regulations are published.
The advantages to allowing one-year and six month options were also outlined and discussed at the meeting. For example, a year-long trial would allow the board to evaluate the effect of the variance in the spring and summer months.
However, others on the board felt that because the variance was the first of its kind, the board should not wait a full year to evaluate the situation, especially since the allowance of this variance may cause other restaurants with outdoor dining areas to apply for their own variance.
At that point Hirschhorn suggested to the board a seven-month window, which would extend the variance into April to give the board at least some idea of its effect in warm-weather months.
"But that doesn't mean that if problems occur, the board has to wait until April to do something," she said. "If there is a problem in month four, the Board of Health can call Starbucks to appear before them to address the issue and could remove the variance if there was a need."
If the board finds no problems after the seven-month trial period, the variance would be extended until Aug. 31 when it would be renewed along with all other Board of Health licenses, Hirschhorn added.
