Planning Board designates area for adult use stores

Dec. 28, 2017 | Payton North
payton@thereminder.com

The East Longmeadow Planning Board met on Dec. 19 to hash out specific details as to where in town a proposed adult-use store could be located.
Reminder Publications submitted photo.

EAST LONGMEADOW – On Dec. 18 the East Longmeadow Planning Board met to go over as a group the towns geographic information system (GIS) map which showed where in town the proposed adult store could be located.

The GIS was generated by the town’s Department of Public Works (DPW). The DPW created a map that would show a 1,000-foot barrier from schools, churches and town-owned parks, as well as a 500-foot barrier from residential areas. With these constraints in mind, the map showed a small area that would allow for adult use.

“What it shows is that basically the only place that this is going to fit is in the Industrial Garden Park, either in Deer Park or in the area on the North side of Denslow [Road], up to the industrial. There is room and empty space in Deer Park still. There are a number of buildings, obviously some which may or may not be willing to make room for something like this in that area,” Planning Board Chair George Kingston said. “This is a fairly large area, it would make possibly good sense, I think.”

Planning Board Vice Chair Deborah Bushnell commented, “It would alleviate the residential concerns, for the most part.”

Kingston continued, stating this would not allow for retail per-se, it would only allow for a “very specialized type of use” rather than general retail.

“What I like about the Industrial Garden Park is that nothing will be visible or in the direct path of any other residential properties adjacent to,” Bushnell said.

A member of the Board voiced that he would like the constraints of the new zoning bylaw to be 1,000 feet across the board. This would mean that there would be a 1,000-foot barrier for not only schools, churches and town-owned parks, but also residential areas.

Though there was much back and forth between the board on this point, as some felt by adding the 1,000-foot residential barrier could be too limiting, the board eventually came to the conclusion that they could all stand by a 1,000-foot barrier for residential, churches, schools and town-owned parks.

On the spot, Bushnell took to the GIS map and added the 1,000-foot from residential barrier, noting that this would then remove more than 30 percent of Deer Park and part of Denslow Rd.

“We’ve got a large number of properties in here, we have Deer Park, a good deal of Denslow,” Kingston said.

In regard to how close this would place the store to Benton Dr., Bushnell said, “We are far removed from any resid­ential, and there are a number of vacancies in a number of these areas.”

The Planning Board meeting came to a consensus stating that they could have all restrictions be put to 1,000 feet across the board and limit an adult store location to the industrial park.

With that said, Kingston suggested that they consult the Town Attorney on whether or not the Board has jurisdiction to include a surrounding town in their amended zoning bylaw, due to Planning Board member Russell Denver’s concerns that an adult store could be placed just over the Longmeadow and East Longmeadow town line in a similar area as discussed.

“I really don’t think we can distinguish between East Longmeadow’s kids and Longmeadow’s kids. We’d almost be being hypocritical,” Denver said.

“I have two small children, I’m all for protecting all the area surrounding towns, I just don’t know whether it’s in our authority to include another town into our zoning bylaws,” Bushnell added.

By putting a surrounding town into East Longmeadow’s bylaw, it would potentially prevent a person from putting an adult store business that would encroach on East Longmeadow property.

“It would prevent any future establishment of the adult store type from coming into that particular area, and that’s where I don’t know if our legality is valid,” Bushnell said.

The Planning Board plans on consulting Town Attorney before the Jan. 2, 2018, Planning Board meeting as well as writing up the amended zoning bylaw to reflect what they discussed. On Jan. 2, the Board plans to vote on the bylaw.

To watch the Dec. 18 meeting, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzfjhDRHG-E&t=4088s or search ELCAT01028 on YouTube.

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