Kent selectmen reaffirm ban on food trucks

KENT — Responding to a request from the Kent Falls Brewing Company to allow a food truck to operate on their Camps Road premises, the Board of Selectmen voted unanimously at a regular meeting on Wednesday, March 22, to affirm the town’s current prohibition of commercial food trucks.

“We made a firm decision against food trucks in the past. I don’t believe we need to do anything,” said Selectman Glenn Sanchez.

First Selectman Jean Speck noted that the brewing company’s request was for the town to create an ordinance to allow some businesses to have food trucks.

“I have no inclination to create a new ordinance,” Sanchez said, and Selectman Rufus de Rham agreed, adding that the brewery is a business operating in a residential zone.

Speck indicated that at present, food trucks are only permitted on private property in connection with a social event when they are serving food at no cost to guests.

Land Acquisition Fund

The possibility of an ordinance to allow the creation of a Land Acquisition Fund was discussed with the selectmen by Connie Manes, chair of the Conservation Commission. She noted that the town has been studying and discussing the issue since 2004, adding that 37 towns are currently putting funds aside for land acquisition.

Of area towns, Manes advised that Goshen’s ordinance would most closely align with Kent’s interests.

“There is no one way to provide resources for such a fund,” Manes said.

Sanchez asked why the momentum was lost over the years and Manes replied that it seems to have been a failure to “carry the ball forward.”

Right to farm friction

While recognizing and supporting their neighbor’s right to farm as protected by local ordinance, 18-year residents William and Melissa Braislin took issue with the cluttered appearance of the farm next door. They asked the selectmen to help in resolving the matter.

Speck noted that Braislin saw a distinction between zoning issues and protected farming issues.

Manes indicated that the right to farm ordinance is an anti-nuisance measure, protecting farmers from residents’ complaints.

Braislin said that the ordinance covers normal agricultural practices, but he was focusing on what he termed “clutter” and an unfinished driveway that he felt negatively affected property values and quality of life. He asked that a town official visit the site.

“I respect farming,” Braislin said, noting that he had planted a vegetative buffer of arbor vitae on the farm property adjacent to his yard at his expense with the farmer’s permission. The trees, however, are slow to grow to a size that will be helpful, he added.

Speck said that she would compose a procedure to be followed for similar issues, coordinating with the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Conservation Commission. She also reported that she has visited the site and received assurances that the farmer will improve the situation.

Speck noted, however, that on a farm, sometimes materials are delivered for future use and must be accommodated.