Marty’s Driving Range will petition the Zoning Board for a special exception to hold summer concerts at the venue – whether or not a group of abutters continues with its appeal process.
In June, the town held a special town meeting where voters approved a zoning amendment that allows outdoor entertainment by special exception in the GRAF district from Memorial Day to Columbus Day weekends.
The amendment was drafted by the owners of Marty’s Driving Range, which has been attempting to re-start a summer concert series that was shut down last summer due to noise and traffic complaints, and the fact that Marty’s had never gone through the approval process to hold concerts at the venue.
A group of landowners that abuts Marty’s appealed the decision, asking the Select Board to re-hold the Town Meeting, suggesting that the language of the ordinance is too vague, and that voters did not understand that the impacts of the ordinance on the entire district, which covers most of Mason, because it had become so closely associated with the Marty’s issue. However, the Select Board denied the appeal, finding they had made no error in procedure.
The appealing group has 30 days to appeal the Select Board’s ruling on the matter to the Superior Court, should they choose to.
That deadline is on Aug. 26. But Martin Ruggiero, owner of Marty’s Driving Range, told the Zoning Board that he is ready to move forward with his special exception application, and is willing to accept the risk that if they indeed choose to pursue the appeal, the court may rule in the appellants favor.
“We’re going to proceed whether there is an appeal or not,” said Ruggiero. “It’s at our risk, I know that. But we’re going to take our chances.”
Select Board member Charlie Moser, who attended the Zoning Board meeting, advised the board that if the abutters do appeal the decision, it is likely they will ask for a stay of any applications currently dealing with requests for special exceptions under the new ordinance.
But, if that happens, the board has the option to continue the hearing until the matter is resolved.
With that in mind, the board agreed to put the Ruggieros application for a special exception on the agenda for its upcoming meeting on Sept. 19 at the Town Hall and notice the abutters.
“This has dragged on long enough,” said Zoning Board member Bill Fritz. “Marty’s is a seasonal business, and most of the season is rapidly running by.”
The board also discussed their plan for organizing the meeting and who they should accept testimony from aside from direct abutters.
By statute, the board is compelled to hear from any resident who is “directly impacted” by the application. While by law, a resident is not necessarily automatically impacted just by virtue of being a tax payer, the board discussed allowing residents who have historically been able to hear the concerts going on to speak.
“It’s at the discretion of the board,” said Moser. “But you don’t want to deny anyone due process. It’s better to let them speak than not.”
The board agreed to hold a public hearing on Marty’s Driving Range’s application for a special exception on Sept. 19 at the Town Hall at 8 p.m.