Bethany Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting, Aug. 3, 2011

A quick synopsis of what happened at last night's meeting for those who want to know what's happening, but can't attend.

1.     Joanna Baum applied for a home occupation permit to operate a home office for a design business at 135 Pole Hill Road. Baum was approved.

2.     A town resident presented an issue regarding a Fairwood Road residence at which a residential homeowner is apparently operating a fencing business from his home. The resident complained of a dumpster on the homeowner’s front lawn filled with debris, stacks of fencing materials on the lawn and a company trailer parked in front. The board acknowledged P & Z had made several attempts to make the homeowner clean up the mess including issuing a cease and desist, and that the town had no records on file regarding a home business at that residential address. The next step will be to arrange an inspection of the property with a building official, a P & Z official and the fire marshal. Once the problem has been documented, the board may consider fining the homeowner along with other possible penalties.

3.     The board discussed some clarifications to their regulations, including an addition to “Section 6 – Prohibited Uses” of their sign regulation that would prohibit, “Signs with any type of internal lighting or internal illumination.” The board also agreed to consider clarifying their definition of a common driveway as well as that of a barn vs. an indoor riding arena.

4.     Johanne Rousseau-Holt applied to operate a therapeutic massage business out of her home on Litchfield Turnpike. The applicant still needs to be signed off by Quinnipiac Valley Health Dept. as well as the Regional Water Authority.

5.     Shimei Fan and Richard Korb have applied to operate a sound recording facility at 60 Mesa Drive. They also need to be signed off on by QVHD.

6.     An application for a home office for a cupcake business, Pretty Much Cupcakes, operated by Sandra Barrett at 58 Miller Road, was approved. Stipulations included there would be no signage; no baking on premises, and the applicant was to notify QVHD once they located a commercial kitchen for production purposes.