The East Marlborough Township zoning hearing board has ruled against Lance and Sandra Shortt's bid to continuing to hold wedding receptions and parties at their Whitewing Farm property on Valley Road (formerly owned by the DeSetas).
Some neighbors had complained that the events brought unwanted traffic and noise to their neighborhood, and a legal battle ensued that eventually led to a series of zoning hearings. The Shortts argued that they had the right to continue holding the events because the township's zoning ordinance didn't allow "private assembly uses" anywhere in East Marlborough.
In its 30-page ruling, the members of the zoning board (Tom Simpers, Richard Pratt, Gerald Hoover, John Laffey and Steve Davidson) disagreed with the Shortts' argument and in fact found that "the proposed Private Assembly Use is encompassed and permitted under several use categories in the Zoning Ordinance." They also found the evidence presented by the township's expert witness "to be more credible" than that presented by the one hired by the Shortts.
Is it any surprise Lance's argument was proven wrong? This is a person who purchased a B&B without bothering to check whether he was actually permitted to host weddings, and then cried to the board that the was going to lose his house. It's a shame the township even has to bother with this mess some bozo "businessman" got himself into in the first place.
ReplyDeleteNo surprise at all; you're right. As is too often the case, the only winners are the attorneys. The losers are the taxpayers who had to foot the bill. We will need to keep an eye on this in case it's appealed -- which means more billable hours on the taxpayers' dime.
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