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Woolwich JLUB approves conditional home-occupation permit for resident’s sourdough bakery
Summary
The Woolwich Joint Land Use Board granted a conditional home-occupation permit to resident applicant Nick Cacia to bake and sell sourdough bread from his home kitchen, subject to limits on location, hours and no external signage; the board clarified that using the garage would change the classification and likely require a different approval process.
Nick Cacia, a resident of 17 Ridge Court, won conditional approval May 7 from the Woolwich Township Joint Land Use Board to bake and sell sourdough bread from his home kitchen.
Cacia told the board he will bake in his house and offer customer pick-ups by appointment and deliveries to a farm-stand seller. "They will be a pickup by schedule or delivered to a farm stand seller," he said, and said the loaves would be "packaged with labeled ingredients of only flour, water and salt." He confirmed current operations would be limited to Saturdays and that he plans to submit a floor plan for a certificate of occupancy and pursue required cottage-food and state food-safety reviews.
Planner Ashton Jones and Solicitor Mike Aimino told the board a home occupation must occur within the dwelling unit and not in an accessory structure. "A kitchen is defined as what would be typical," Jones said, and the board explained that relocating baking to a garage could reclassify the operation as a nonresidential use and trigger additional zoning and permitting requirements. The ordinance criteria discussed include operation by the resident as a sole proprietor, use of no more than one-third of the dwelling for the business, no external signage, and limitations to avoid excessive traffic, odors or other neighborhood impacts.
Board members pressed for clarity about hours, volume and sales channels; Cacia confirmed no third-party product sales and said he found initial information online. Dana Cotton joined the meeting after roll call and did not vote on the application because she arrived after discussion began.
Following a brief public-comment period during which no members of the public spoke, the board voted to grant the conditional use. Kauffman moved to approve, Healey seconded, and the roll call was Daniels-Yes, Kauffman-Yes, Matthias-Yes, Silberman-Yes, Trautz-Yes, Healey-Yes, Fluellen-Yes, Grasso-Yes. The motion carried. The approval is conditioned on the operation remaining within the dwelling unit and complying with the checklist items discussed (floor-plan submission, applicable food-safety certifications and no exterior signage).
