The New Ipswich Select Board ruled it would not rescind a driveway permit for a parking area owned by a resident on River Road, after neighbors appealed its legitimacy.
The property is owned by Jane Elwell, who has used it to host Silver Scone Teas, a tea party and event business.
“Right now, it doesn’t appear there was anything wrong with the issuance of the driveway permit,” said Select Board Chair Shawn Talbot during Tuesday’s meeting. “So, as it stands right now, we don’t have any motivation to rescind the driveway permit and stop anything that’s going on right now in regards to that driveway.”
The Select Board issued a cease-and-desist on the business earlier this year, after complaints from neighbors about issues such as parking on the road, and after discovering Elwell had not gone through the proper town procedures to operate a business in a residential area.
Elwell is currently going through the zoning process to request a variance to operate the business. A group of neighbors, who have protested the continuation of the business, also filed to protest the issuance of a driveway permit to widen the access driveway to an existing parking area Elwell intends to improve to provide parking for her business.
Through their collective attorney, Nancy Clark, the group objected on several grounds, including that Currier Road, where the access is, is a scenic road and should not have stone walls altered, that Elwell did not provide documentation that the change would not impact nearby wetlands and that residential properties are intended to have a single driveway in most cases under the town’s rules.
Talbot said the town investigated each of the claims, and had not found a basis to revoke the permit.
State law governs what town and state entities may do on a scenic road, but does not bound private landowners and what they may do on their property relative to stone walls or cutting trees, Talbot said.
Plans submitted with the Zoning Board showed where wetlands on the property were, and the board was satisfied the widening of the driveway did not affect them.
Clark protested this conclusion, noting that the town’s rules require proof that wetlands aren’t impacted be included in the driveway permit application, not as part of another process, and also protested that the submissions currently at the Zoning Board were not sufficient. Elwell, who was present at the meeting, said the wetlands had been surveyed by a professional company and full plans had been submitted to the town as part of her zoning application.
Talbot agreed to look into that issue further, and revisit it during the board’s next meeting.
The board also found there was no issue with the driveway being the second on the property, noting that it and the parking area had been in existence long before Elwell owned the property.
“She was not seeking a permit for a second driveway, only to alter the one that’s existing,” Talbot said.
Clark took issue with the driveway being used to hold events for Silver Scone Teas, which she said was an illegal use.
Neighbors also protested the existence of a parking lot in a residential area.
“Just because it’s not customary, doesn’t mean it’s illegal,” said Select Board member Jason Somero, who noted the board had been alerted of gatherings at the property since the issuance of the cease-and-desist order on Silver Scones. The board has been told those were private, unpaid events.
“To me, legally speaking, they’re following the cease and desist,” Somero said.
Talbot reiterated the board’s intention to look further at the plans submitted to the town and whether they satisfactorily showed the location of the wetlands, and revisit the issue next week.
Clark said that she intends to appeal the board’s decision not to rescind the permit.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.