On Thursday night, the Rochester Zoning Board of Appeals upheld the the building commissioner’s decision that the operations at Wellspring Farm are not permitted under Rochester zoning bylaws.

The board reopened the public hearing from June 23 for comment to help them decide whether Wellspring Farm had the right to operate without a permit as an educational facility.

The farm, a therapeutic horse riding facility, has been the topic of numerous complaints from neighbors, many of whom believe the growth of the business has negatively impacted their residential neighborhood on Hiller Road.

Ultimately, the board decided that while there is undoubtedly an educational element to the therapeutic services that Wellspring Farm provides, the board does need to add some regulations for the operation.

“As the facility has grown, so has the number of complaints,” Chair Richard Cutler said. “I don’t think the operation should go away, I’m only saying it should have some limits.”

The decision comes after two meetings full of public comment. While the June 23 meeting was predominately full of neighbors and abutters who had complaints about the farm, Thursday's meeting saw many supporters of Wellspring Farm speak up.

Melissa Harrington of Wareham said she has an autistic son who attends Wellspring Farm every week, and that what he does during his sessions is educational.

“When some people hear education they think of schools and things like science, math and history,” she said. “[At Wellspring Farm] my son can learn coping skills and life skills…my son is educated on patience, compassion, friendship and understanding.”

A neighbor, Rob McGee also spoke up in support, particularly addressing abutters’ previous complaints about an increase in traffic.

“I walk up and down Hiller Road constantly. I drive up and down, I’m there all the time. There’s never any problem with traffic or anything else,” he said. “I think it’s a wonderful thing what they do for these kids.”

Wellspring Farm owners Jim and Holly Vogel were represented by attorney George Boerger, who argued that education is at the heart of everything that goes on at the farm.

“The core concept is that what goes on at this facility is that [the clients] are mainly children who suffer from significant disabilities, and they’re at the facility to try and learn how to cope to improve their lives,” he said. “The skills they’re developing might be very simplistic compared to what people in this room can do, but it is significant for them.”

John Markey, an attorney representing a handful of neighbors, agreed that while there was educational value in what the Vogels do at Wellspring Farm, education was not the predominant usage for the farm.

“The dominant purpose is therapy,” he said. “There are nine different licensed mental health professionals who list themselves as providing therapy services.”

After the hearing was closed for public comment, the board deliberated among themselves.

Board member Davis Sullivan said he believes the farm is beneficial to its clients, but that the rights of the neighbors needed to be considered as well.

“The abutters have rights as property owners, one is quiet enjoyment of property,” he said. “I could see [the number of clients] as a disturbance to someone who payed a lot of money to live in Rochester. The scale has probably gotten out of hand.”

Another board member, David Arancio, expressed his disappointment in the entire situation.

“I’m a little disappointed that this is before this board. This is a matter that could have been resolved through some compromise from both parties,” he said. “This business has changed [since 2001] and we need to look at it for a special permit application.”

The board agreed to uphold the building commissioner’s decision and decided to push their decision for the special permit until Aug.11.

The public hearing was technically two hearings, one for the appeal of the building commissioner’s decision and the second for a special permit to allow commercial use of the property should the board deny the appeal. However, the board wants additional information, such as a traffic and parking plan, hours of operation, screening from neighbors and any changes that might be proposed for lighting on the property before making its decision.