04/19/2022
The Town of Woodstock has reached a settlement agreement with the developers of the proposed Peace Field Farm on-farm restaurant project that may have significant implications for appeals and cross-appeals of both Act 250 and Woodstock Town Development Review Board (TDRB) decisions pending before the Environmental Division of the Vermont Superior Court.
Of particular import for the Act 250 process, the agreement inked by the town and the Hollands late last week contains a clause which states that “if necessary and upon written request, the Town . . . shall convey to the District #3 Environmental Commission or Environmental Division that, as conditioned by the TDRB Decision and/or this Agreement, Peacefield’s application for an Act 250 permit is consistent with the Town of Woodstock Town Plan.” That acknowledgment is at odds with the partial findings of fact issued by the District #3 Environmental Commission last November, wherein the commission denied Peace Field an Act 250 permit because the restaurant proposal was not in accordance with the town plan.
The accord between the town and Peace Field Farm owner/developers John and Maureen Holland was made public Monday morning by Woodstock Acting Municipal Manager David Green. In the agreement, the town, as an interested and statutory party in the appeals process, agrees to take no position on a summary judgment sought from the Environmental Court by the Hollands that the DRB failed to act on Peace Field’s request for site plan approval for the on-farm restaurant plan within the statutorily required period of 45 days following the close of quasi-judicial public hearings on the proposal.
In okaying the agreement, the town noted that a summary judgment by the Environmental Court on behalf of the Hollands could result in the granting of site plan approval for the on-farm restaurant without any conditions. The town seeks to hold Peace Field to conditions that were imposed on the project when the Woodstock DRB finally okayed the site plan on November 17 of last year, several months beyond the statutory deadline for rendering a decision following the closure of the public hearing process in March 2021. The Peace Field developers state in the settlement agreement that they will meet the conditions requested by the DRB relative to days and hours of operation; outdoor food service, weddings, and special events; the maximum number of patrons served at any one time; screening of parking areas clearly visible from Pomfret Road; and potential adverse lighting and sound impacts on neighboring properties.
A PDF of the settlement agreement between the Town of Woodstock and Peace Field, LLC is attached. In a separate but related matter, the Woodstock Selectboard will hold its first public hearing tomorrow evening, Tuesday, April 19 at 6 p.m., on a proposed amendment to the town’s zoning ordinance, petitioned via citizen initiative, that would allow on-farm restaurants to operate in rural-residential (R-5) zones within the community. The hearing and regular selectboard meeting to follow will be held at Woodstock Town Hall and virtually via Zoom.
