Community supports two efforts to live & work at home

CORNWALL — A good-sized crowd attended a public hearing before the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) Jan. 8. That usually means, in any town, that there is a controversy over a property use.But it turned out that most of the 30 members of the public were there as a show of support for Debbie Bushnell, who plans to build a small hair salon onto her Pierce Lane home. Her husband, Fred Bushnell, explained during the public hearing how health problems prevent her from continuing to operate the Covered Bridge Hair Salon in West Cornwall. She has been there for the past eight years, with about 25 years in the business.Later, during the regular meeting, P&Z members carefully reviewed criteria for compliance with home occupations, finding no reason to deny the permit. Approval was unanimous. The only problem was the omission of a floor-plan drawing, which Fred Bushnell went home to get while P&Z conducted a second public hearing.The 40 minutes of testimony during the Bushnell hearing hardly seemed necessary, but it was a nice testament to the Cornwall community.Comments ranged from Debbie Bushnell’s perfect record of health department inspections at her shop to her being a “nice lady.”Friends and neighbors spoke of the need for businesses, in particular a hair salon, and Bushnell’s willingness to go to elderly clients’ homes. Also noted was the trend toward people using their homes to best advantage in home occupations, allowing flexibility for young families to continue to live and work here. That approach is highlighted in the Town Plan of Conservation and Development. These kinds of business uses add to the tax base. There is also the simple compassion of allowing someone the opportunity to be able to continue to work while caring for a family and their health. Many said they are longtime clients. A pony-tailed Buddy Hurlburt noted he is the only one in his family whose hair Bushnell does not cut.The plan is for a 12-by-20 foot addition at the rear of a 2,240-square-foot home, meeting the requirement that an accessory use be no more than a third of the residential use. The house is not visible from the road. There will be only one chair and never more than one appointment scheduled at a time, allowing for ample parking. Chemicals used for hairstyling will be the same as those that anyone can buy at retail. Torrington Area Health District has approved the business in terms of septic and other health aspects.A sign may be installed in the future, but a separate permit would be required for that. It would be unlighted and no bigger than 2-by-2 feet.Finding ways to make it workThe second hearing was for a special permit for a detached accessory apartment and modifications to an existing home occupation on property owned by Robert Friedman on Cornwall Hollow Road. Friedman has operated a furniture-making shop on the property for about 12 years, moving from one barn to a larger one along the way. He lived in a small house on an adjoining lot. His elderly parents, in need of daily care, have since moved into the home. Friedman is building a larger house above and adjacent to the current workshop. He and fiancée Gina Olsen are anxious to get the project done and move out of the home they are renting.During a lengthy public hearing and discussion by the commission, background on the property was reviewed. Land Use Administrator Karen Griswold Nelson explained that a permit originally issued in 2002 has since been modified without the proper procedure followed, such as a public hearing and P&Z review. When home occupation and accessory apartment regulations were enacted, the lot with the woodworking shop became even further out of compliance. Friedman had the lots legally combined as advised, as a first step toward a solution.Public comment was entirely in favor of working to make the property zoning-compliant. Friedman was described as an upstanding community member just trying to conduct a business and take care of his family.There were a couple of comments from neighbors about noise in the summer and the smell of smoke in the winter from a wood furnace. Friedman said that now that he is aware of the impacts, he will make adjustments. Griswold Nelson said that the property was so “out of whack” with zoning that anything would be an improvement. She said planning consultant Tom McGowan agreed a modification that could at least bring the property closer to compliance was the appropriate way to address the issue. She agreed with P&Z member Jim LaPorta’s suggestion that this is a unique case and that the permit could state there is no intention to set a precedent. The problem remained of ratios of business-to-residence. Even with the lots combined and both homes figured into the equation, residential square footage did not add up to at least twice that of the business, which has 1,000 feet of working space and 1,400 feet of storage in one large space. But storage space doesn’t count, and by crunching the numbers, P&Z determined that if Friedman adjusted the shop layout so that the workspace was a little less than 100 feet smaller, the math would work. P&Z unanimously approved the permitting with the condition that Friedman must file a new plan to show the redefined shop layout.