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Yarmouth Board of Health schedules working meeting after heated debate over proposed Mill Lane goat farm
Summary
The Board of Health heard hours of testimony about a proposed stable and goat license at 88 & 100 Mill Lane, including neighbors' worries about runoff into Hallett's Mill Pond and the applicants' manure‑management plan; the board voted to hold a working meeting with Town Counsel before deciding.
The Yarmouth Board of Health on July 20 heard extended testimony and public comment over an application by Natasha and Oliver Brahmst for a stable and goat license at 88 & 100 Mill Lane.
Attorney William Henchy introduced the applicants and summarized a July 13 site visit; Natasha Brahmst described her farm operations and said, “the farm will be commercial, where she will sell flowers, vegetables, and baby goats,” and that any milking would be for household use only. The applicants presented Best Management Practices (BMPs) intended to limit environmental impacts, including a plan for weekly manure removal and an enclosed trailer to store manure on a downhill, roofed concrete pad.
Neighbors questioned the scale and siting of the operation. Paul Fitzgerald told the Board he worried about “runoff of feces and bacteria into the pond, safety for swimming and shellfishing in the Mill Pond,” and others raised concerns about traffic, pests, noise, and the sufficiency of monitoring. Attorney Henchy and supporters said the pasture locations match prior engineered plans from 1988 and cited letters of support; local advocate Leo Cakounes described the manure‑management plan as exemplary.
Engineering details were cited during the hearing: the applicants’ lot is 16 acres (a regulatory calculation cited in the hearing allows 2 animals per total acre, which would permit up to 32 animals), while the immediate area to be used for animals was described as roughly 1.44 acres. Dan Ojala, the project civil engineer, described a berm designed to intercept runoff and emphasized the plan for weekly manure removal and containment.
The Board did not render a final decision. Board member Mary Craig moved that the Board hold an open working meeting — with no public testimony — to consult Town Counsel before making a decision; Scott Brewer seconded and the motion passed unanimously. The working meeting was scheduled to allow the Board to focus on regulatory interpretation and conditions before taking a vote.
Next steps: the Board will meet in a work session to consult Town Counsel and examine the stable regulation and submitted plans; no permit decision was recorded on July 20.
