Owner seeks earlier retail hours, food service and outdoor music at Brown barn; neighbors press for stricter parking and noise controls

Grant Allendorf appeared before the Development Review Board to request amendments to the conditional‑use approval for his barn venue at 3 (barn address variants reported). Allendorf asked to move retail start times earlier (he cited opening retail at 7 a.m. for the ice‑cream/retail component rather than the current 10 a.m.), to allow a sandwich/bagel retail component under the conditional‑use/caterer rules, and to permit limited Friday‑night outdoor music May–October from approximately 5 to 8 p.m.

Allendorf, who described himself as experienced in sound production, outlined mitigation steps: limited speaker size (QSC K10 speakers), no subwoofers, a barn supervisor on duty to control volume, keeping barn doors closed and performing decibel checks roughly every half hour. He told the board his typical decibel readings inside the barn are between 53 and 65 dB and noted the town noise limit of 70 dB at property lines.

Neighbors — most extensively Kevin Holly — opposed or asked for stronger conditions on expanded activity, focusing on parking, traffic flow, bus access, driveway damage and emergency access. Holly said the venue amounts to “the largest commercial activity in this town. Period.” He described occasions when buses and parked cars blocked the private driveway, drivers became stuck in mud, and neighbors had to bear driveway maintenance costs; he urged the DRB to require dedicated parking supervision, consider widening or other roadway improvements, and ensure that event departures are monitored.

Allendorf responded that the venue has used barn supervisors, signage and other measures for years, that most incidents have been rare over 11 years, and that lighting and signage have reduced problems; he said he would continue to work with neighbors and staff on supervision and logistics. Board members and staff noted that some changes (health‑department rules, wastewater limits, and certain catering/event limitations) may require state or administrative approvals and that outdoor music is often conditioned (for example, to stop by 10 p.m.) in similar cases.

Next steps: staff will verify health and wastewater permit conditions and applicable catering/event limits; the DRB did not record a final vote on the conditional‑use changes in the transcript and further conditions or a formal decision would follow administrative review and any required permit amendments.