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Commission approves longtime Lower Lane farm stand after conditions and signage review
Summary
The Berlin Planning & Zoning Commission approved a special permit and site plan for Stanley Pager to continue a self-service farm stand at 407 Lower Lane, contingent on staff conditions, permitted-product limits and staff review of signage.
The Berlin Planning & Zoning Commission on July 23 approved a special permit and site plan that will allow Stanley Pager to continue operating a roadside, honor-system farm stand at 407 Lower Lane.
Pager told the commission his family has lived at the property for three generations and that the stand has operated about six to seven years. "I would like to first take the opportunity to apologize to the committee for the confusion regarding this location," Pager said during the public hearing, and said the stand sells only fresh vegetables grown at his address and is removed and stored each night. He told the commission the 4-by-8 table and gazebo roll into his garage at closing and that he carries liability insurance.
Commissioners pressed on specifics the regulations require. Commissioner Miller asked whether any canned or baked goods would be sold; Pager replied, "Absolutely not — nothing cooked, nothing jarred, canned, just vegetables straight out of the garden." Staff recommended that the special permit explicitly list permitted items and require the applicant to secure any additional department approvals (health, tax) for products that trigger other rules. The commission amended the motion to include staff review of signage and incorporated staff-recommended conditions before voting to approve.
A neighborhood resident, Peter Naris, and several others supported the application during public comment, describing the stand as a valued source of local produce. The permit incorporates the conditions discussed at the hearing, including adherence to the ZBA variances already granted for frontage and setback, limits on what may be sold under the farm-stand rules, and staff oversight of signage and compliance with other departmental permits. The commission recorded the approval as a formal motion and carried it at the July 23 meeting; the written permit and any site-plan conditions will be recorded on the land records.
The commission noted that because special permits run with the property any future owner would be subject to the same restrictions and that easements or other recorded documents would be required if the continued use relies on parking or access on a neighboring parcel.
