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Residents ask Exeter council to press zoning inspector over business at 415 Castro Road
Summary
Mary and John Golash told the council they want the 2011 variance for 415 Castro Road revisited after the property began operating a business and farm uses; the council advised the couple to ask the zoning inspector to investigate and added the request to staff follow-up.
Exeter — Residents Mary and John Golash raised a neighborhood zoning complaint at the Exeter Town Council meeting, asking the council to help revisit a March 2011 variance for a property at 415 Castro Road that they say is now operating as a business and farm.
"Our request is to get, with the zoning board and get on their agenda to relook at some decisions that were made back in March 2011," Mary Golash told the council, saying the property now hosts a business called "Marco Trash and Treasure" and a farm listed as "Agusto Farm LLC," uses the Golashes say were not permitted under the original variance.
Council members responded that the council itself does not have a direct mechanism to rescind a past zoning board decision. One councilor advised the Golashes to take alleged violations to the town zoning inspector for review: "The only thing that you can do is talk to the zoning inspector about what’s happening and whether there’s something that’s being violated," the councilor said. The council agreed to accept the Golashes' request as a formal complaint and asked staff to arrange a meeting to review the matter and the inspector's findings.
The Golashes said they had provided a packet of documents and minutes showing a stipulation that the owner must have applied for a building permit within a year or requested an extension; the packet, they said, shows those actions were not taken. Councilors said the zoning inspector could investigate whether the property is violating current code or the earlier stipulations. No enforcement action or formal referral to the zoning board was recorded at the meeting.
The matter will proceed as a complaint to be reviewed by the zoning inspector; the council requested staff assistance in setting up a meeting with the complainants and appropriate town staff.
