No final decision has been made on Wellspring Farms just yet. The Zoning Board of Appeals voted to continue the Aug. 25 public hearing until Sept. 8 in order to be able to complete a site visit. The meeting was held to discuss a special permit request to allow commercial use of the Hiller Road property,

After the building commissioner ruled that the operations at Wellspring Farm are not permitted under zoning bylaws, the farm’s owners Jim and Holly Vogel appealed that decision. In July, the board denied that appeal. The ZBA then asked the Vogel’s to provide additional information about parking plans, screening plans, changes in lighting on the property and hours of operation before deciding on the special permit.

The Vogel’s, represented by attorney George Boerger, presented a parking plan that would provide up to eight parking spots across the three parcels of land belonging to Wellspring Farm.

Board Chair Richard Cutler expressed concerns with the parking spots on Hiller Road and requested that the three spaces be moved elsewhere.

Boerger also presented the board with photos of the screening already in place on the property, including fences and vegetation that blocks the view for neighbors.

“It’s a pretty heavily wooded area,” Boerger said.

However, abutter Kathy Mendoza spoke up at the meeting, claiming that the vegetation disappears in the winter and eliminates any screening.

“There’s a constant stream of traffic on Hiller Road, and when the vegetation is gone in the winter, I can see the vans parked there,” she said.

The board scheduled a site visit for Aug. 26 and assured her it would be checked out.

The Vogel’s do not plan on making any lighting changes or additions, and requested that the hours of operation be permitted for 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. five days a week.

While Mendoza was the only abutter who spoke during the hearing, Cutler did read a letter to Town Counsel Blair Bailey from other neighbors. In the letter, the neighbors made suggestions for the board to consider, such as limiting parking and access to the driveway on Hiller Road and the area on Walnut Plain Road in order to “minimize the traffic congestion that occurs.”

The letter also asked the board to consider limiting the number of clients the farm can see per day, as well as requiring an eight-foot high screening. The board was not sure if it was within its power to restrict the number of clients the farm can see.

After a long summer of public hearings for Wellspring Farm, Jim Vogel asked if the site visit and special permit decision could be made as quickly as possible.

“This drawn out process is damaging to Wellspring Farm,” he said.

The board agreed, and scheduled the site visit for the next day. Additionally, instead of waiting until the Sept. 14 meeting to continue the hearing, the board scheduled a meeting for Sept. 8 at the Rochester Town Hall to make its decision.