Stow zoning board continues Lions Club food‑truck appeal to Aug. 3 as legal and factual questions remain

The Stow Zoning Board on Tuesday opened a public hearing on an appeal and a request for a special permit or use variance from the Lions Club to permit a food truck on club property, then voted to continue the matter to August 3 at 8:00 p.m.

Chair (speaker 2) told the applicant the board could not guarantee a final written decision tonight and asked for clarification about whether the filing was an appeal of the building commissioner’s enforcement, a special‑permit request, a variance, or a combination. The chair said, “I cannot guarantee, and in fact, it is likely that this will not reach a final written decision tonight,” and invited the club to submit additional materials before the continued hearing.

Representatives for the Lions Club described an MOU with the food‑truck operator and said the club views the truck’s presence as temporary rather than a permanent structure. The applicant asked the board to consider historical use of the site and charitable benefits of proceeds that would fund community programs.

Board members and staff focused on several discrete issues the club must document before the next session: the timeliness of the appeal (staff noted the building commissioner’s cease‑and‑desist was dated April 30 and the appeal was filed June 4, outside a 30‑day statutory window), the extent and frequency of past food‑truck activity to support any claim of preexisting nonconforming use, parking and site safety, and whether the zoning bylaw permits relief (mobile vendors are explicitly allowed by special permit only in the Lower Village business district).

With the applicant’s consent, the board made and seconded a motion to continue the hearing to Aug. 3 at 8:00 p.m.; the motion passed on a voice vote. Chair and staff reiterated that the hearing remains open and the applicant may file supplemental evidence ahead of the continued session.