By Buffy Calvert
An overflow crowd gathered on October 14th for the second Public Hearing relative to the application of Cyndi Wright of Dirty Girl Farm to move her goat operation to the property across from the Town Hall now owned by John Gregg. (See September Gazette for full description.)
Frank Winkler, Chairman, prefaced the hearing by announcing that all farming aspects of the operation including the sale of her own produce, were governed by New York State’s Right to Farm Law. Only the proposed retail store, if it were to offer items not produced on her farm, and appropriate parking fall under the purview of the Planning Board. All members of the board (Jim Darling, Art Reed, Rob Laing, Alex Adelson, and John Reynolds) were present except Ed Callahan.
The retail shop will include public bathrooms and community space. They plan to provide 20 parking spaces. One contiguous homeowner raised concerns about vermin, predators, odor, and the possible lowering of his property values. Everyone else seemed to support the application.
After closing the public hearing, the Planning Board voted unanimously to approve the application. The crowd cheered. ~