The Town of Crawford Planning Board meeting on August 27 was dominated by a contentious hearing of Presutti Equities' request of a special use permit for a street sweeping/snow removal business in addition to residence.

Despite the fact that Mr. Presutti emphasized that his street sweepers and snow plows would be washed elsewhere, and that at no time would they bring back debris or waste of any kind to the site, a number of neighboring residents, both on Route 52 and Hill Ave, voiced alarms about a number of potential problems.

First to speak out was Zina Mazzone, who lives next door to the business at 2191 Route 52. She expressed the concerns that, by and large, would be echoed by other neighbors: that there would be a lot of noise; that there might be dangerous chemical pollution from pressure washing of Mr. Presutti's machines that could end up in the groundwater and, hence, in well water; and that there might also be heavy usage of the well or wells on the property which might also cause problems for neighboring wells. On top of that, Mrs. Mazzone was concerned about her horses, that they might easily be spooked by loud machinery, and that this might happen while her five year old son was riding them or just being around them, citing the potential situation's obvious dangers.

Mrs. Mazzone also felt that the property's rezoning from Residential/Agricultural to the Business Premise zone had been done without regard for the surrounding residents, and that those residents should have been notified by mail of the zoning change.

Regarding the neighbors' concerns, Mr. Presutti re-emphasised that his business would not bring back waste from street sweeping operations, or snow from snow plowing, to the property. He maintained that he would park no more than five street sweepers there, in addition to a dump truck and his personal vehicles.

Residents Respond
Later, the Journal spoke to the neighbors, who represented a spectrum of views about the property and the potential for disruption posed by Mr. Presutti and his use of it for a mixed residence/business use.

Zina Mazzone wanted to make one thing clear, immediately.

"I have no problem with Mr. Presutti, or with him being there. Just as long as the concerns that everybody has mentioned are addressed. He said there'd be no pressure washing of the machines on the property, and that they wouldn't be bringing anything back there. He described all that in detail, and we have to take his word on it.

"That said, you have to understand, I'm a mother with a five-year-old. My protective urge gets aroused by the thought of heavy machinery being used nearby, especially since I have horses and my son will be riding them. Horses can be spooked by sudden, loud noises.

"And then there's the worry about well-usage," she continued. "Mr. Presutti will be using the same water we all use, if he really does live there. So he won't want to poison his own well. But how much water will he use? He assured us that he doesn't use residential type well water for his business. I guess we'll have to trust him on that." Mrs. Mazzone's remaining concern regarded the zoning process.

"We were unaware of the zoning change. I feel the town should notify everyone that's affected by a change like this. If we do something on our property we have to send registered letters to everyone within 250 feet of our property. "

Mrs. Mazzone described the shock she felt when she found out that the property next to hers had been rezoned into the Business Premise district (BP).

"Just a couple of days before the meeting I went in to look at the map and that's when I noticed that it wasn't RA anymore [Residential/Agricultural]. I never knew."

Colleen Segarra, another mother and horse owner, who lives just across Hill Avenue from the property in question, echoed Mrs. Mazzone's concerns.

"Mr. Presutti's business is a seasonal one and I guess I'm really concerned whether he's being 100% honest with us. That makes me worry about our wells, our children and the horses.

"One thing's for sure: traffic on Hill Avenue had better learn to slow down when he's pulling out with a big truck towing his machinery or there'll be an accident."

Joan Harris, who has lived just a couple doors down Hill Avenue most of her life, offered a slightly different set of perspectives.

"I've been here since I was four years old. I remember when that property was a chicken farm. The smell of that was just horrible. We were among the first to get air conditioning, partly to keep that smell out of the house. So, if it was a choice between equipment or livestock, I would choose equipment.

"What offends me about this though, is the zoning change was made and nobody here was notified. When Phil Jamison said that sending us letters about zoning changes would bankrupt the town, I have to say I was very offended. I think that this is important enough to everyone; I mean it affects the value of all our properties here…we should be notified."

The property at the center of all this concern sits forlorn and uninhabited. The driveway is disappearing under rampant grasses, and the neat looking little house is untended. The property sits next to the service station on the corner of Route 52 and Hill Avenue that's still referred to as "Larry's." The zoning change took place in 2002.

Phil Jamison, head of the Planning Board, tried to make several trenchant points during August 27's hearing.

"I'm not sure that this is an incompatible business use," he said. "In fact, I'd suggest that this would be one of the lowest-impact businesses you could have in the BP Zone. A lot of farmers have even more equipment than Mr. Presutti, and they can make a lot of noise too. People sometimes forget that agriculture today involves a lot of machinery."

As for problems with the horses, Mr. Jamison shrugged. "I've had horses. Horses do get used to noise."

The Journal spoke to Nancy Duryea at the Planning Board about the zoning changes and the way things are done. She offered a point that people may also overlook.

"The Business Premise Zoning actually gives the town more oversight of what can be done on a piece of property than the RA Zoning does," she said.

As for notification, Duryea nods, saying, "People are busy in their lives. They don't come to the Planning Board meetings, but what happens at these meetings can have a huge impact. They don't necessarily even read the legal notices that are published in the paper. I can't comment on whether notification should be sent out to everyone, except that it would require that the Planning Board have a pretty big staff."

She doesn't say "expensive," but then, she doesn't have to.

And there's the rub for a place like the Town of Crawford, which is still largely rural, and overwhelmingly residential, but needs tax-rateable business properties.

As for the request by Mr. Presutti that started the discussion, it seems to have been sidelined somewhat by a side-issue concerning maintenance of residency at the property. The Board requested more documentation of that. The request will probably have to go to the Zoning Board. Mr Presutti was told to come back in October.

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