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ZBA upholds building commissioner: home bakery cannot operate roadside stand under home‑occupation rule
Summary
The Zoning Board of Appeals upheld the building commissioner’s interpretation that home‑occupation rules prohibit a customer‑facing roadside stand or on‑site retail display at a residential property. The petitioner, Christina McCardle, appealed after the Board of Health approved her cottage food operation.
The Gardner Zoning Board of Appeals on Feb. 18 upheld the Building Commissioner’s determination that a proposed on‑site farm‑stand style retail operation at 877 Timothy Boulevard would violate the city’s home‑occupation rules.
Christina McCardle appealed the building commissioner’s enforcement decision after the Board of Health approved her cottage food operations permit for preparation of non–time‑temperature‑controlled baked goods in her home. McCardle submitted letters of neighborhood support and said other gardeners and cottage bakers in nearby towns operate roadside stands; she asked the ZBA to overturn the building commissioner’s reliance on the zoning ordinance.
Zoning Chair explained that Gardner’s home‑occupation rule (zoning code section 675‑830) allows home occupations but expressly prohibits “public display or on‑site retail sales of goods or wares” on the residential property. The board noted that the Board of Health’s approval governs food safety and preparation but does not supersede local zoning use restrictions. The chair said, in effect, that preparing goods at home for off‑site delivery would comply with home‑occupation rules but an unmanned or customer‑facing roadside stand on the property would constitute an on‑site retail display and therefore would not be allowed under the cited zoning section.
The board voted to uphold the building commissioner’s determination, rejecting McCardle’s administrative appeal. The board did not opine on enforcement actions against other cottage bakers not before the board; it said those situations would be enforced or reviewed as they arise under zoning law.
Chair LaFana and members encouraged McCardle to consider alternatives — for example, delivery, farmers market sales (subject to market rules) or applying for a different permit or zoning relief if she sought a permanent on‑site retail operation — and noted that any code change to permit roadside retail would be a separate policy action for the Planning Board and City Council.
