A certain lack of Ziel

There was a sense of unreality and frustration in the West Marlborough Township hall the evening of Dec. 13.
Richard Hayne, billionaire founder of Urban Outfitters, has applied for permission from the township for two activities at his sprawling Doe Run Farm in Springdell: (1) processing and wholesaling cheese and yogurt at his creamery and (2) processing and wholesaling vegetables at his greenhouse complex.
The hearings were held back to back and, to dot the legal i's and cross the legal t's, Mr. Hayne's representatives covered a great deal of the same ground, producing deja vu in the audience.
Unfortunately, there was also a strong sense of mistrust. Mr. Hayne has already been making cheese for many months now without permission from the township, selling it at his Terrain stores and local farmers' markets. Also, Mr. Hayne has never testified at any township hearing dealing with his property, leaving his representatives to -- presumably -- speak for him. But they are also the ones who famously once said that Mr. Hayne intended to make cheese for his own personal use only.
Also, David Ziel, the rep who was supposed to address most of the issues of interest to the township -- like truck traffic, wastewater management and such -- wasn't even at the hearing. Supervisors and audience members again and again asked exactly what would be going on in the creamery and the "processing shed," only to be told by Mr. Hayne's attorney that Mr. Ziel was the person who could address that. (He is supposed to appear at the continuation of the hearing on Jan. 5.)
Springdell resident Joseph Huston told me after the meeting that he was reminded of the old Cheech & Chong comedy routine "Dave's not here!" It was the best line of the night.
In other Doe Run Farm news: Mr. Hayne is building an indoor pool and squash court on the site where Tony Young's mansion used to be. He is also converting the existing clay tennis court into a grass one -- not necessarily because he prefers playing on that surface, but for storm-water management purposes: clay is considered to be an "impervious surface," and he is allowed to have only so much paving on the property.
Also, you might remember that at the November township supervisors' meeting a resident pointed out that Mr. Hayne's new corn crib was too close to Hicks Road. Township engineer Al Giannantonio of Yerkes Associates reported that he looked into the matter and found that not only was it in the road right-of-way, it was also built in a flood plain, which isn't allowed. Mr. Hayne's rep told him it would be moved.