PHILLIPSTON — A public hearing on proposed amendments to the town’s zoning and general bylaws has been continued by Phillipston’s Planning Board to April 19. The hearing got under way at the board’s meeting last Monday.
The proposed zoning amendment would prohibit the establishment of dirt bike and/or motocross tracks throughout the town. The proposal was brought forward by a citizens’ petition authored and supported by residents of Blake Corner Road, who have complained about the noise of dirt bikes on property owned by neighbor Brian Pacheco.
“I’m reading the petition and it doesn’t clearly define what a track is,” said resident David Manty. “I had asked that question a few months ago. And because it doesn’t clearly define a track, I think this petition shouldn’t go any further, and get thrown out.
“It’s very vague and a slippery slope to go down if you’re telling me a path is a track. So, I think it should be thrown out and done correctly because a track is not defined.”
Planning Board Chair Bernie Malouin said, “We had a citizens’ petition come in and the language in the citizens’ petition doesn’t make reference to what a track is. Now, somebody can suggest we change and define a track, but keep in mind, with a citizens’ petition, we can’t change the text of that. We have to send it to the people to decide, based on what the text is.
“We can’t let one or two people on the citizens’ petition say, ‘I meant this.’ Whatever they sent in, that’s what we have to go by.”
Malouin said if supporters of the petition want to change its language, the original petition would need to be withdrawn and a re-worded petition circulated for signatures. He said the same people who signed the original petition would need to sign the new one.
“There’s very little detail in this,” said Pacheco. “It’s very restrictive, and quite frankly, there’s no supporting documentation or research to indicate we even have a problem within the town.
“If there’s a chronic problem in town, I would think the Phillipston Police Department actually weigh in. But I would think if we have a chronic problem in town you’d have data supporting that — like the number of complaints, where were they, stuff like that.”
Pacheco said he had asked for that information at a previous meeting but had seen none. He said he’d like to know from Bonnie House, a Blake Corner resident, what research was done “besides getting 25 or 28 people to sign a petition.”
He further argued that the way the petition is worded, people who want to ride a dirt bike or snowmobile on their own property would need to get a special permit.
In response to Pacheco, House said, “The petition was circulated as the result of the continuous high noise that came from the dirt bike and motocross track on Blake Corner Road. The amendment is written to protect the character and integrity of the town.
“Phillipston would change. It would no longer be a quiet New England town. The quality of life, the rights of the neighbors, are being denied.”
She said residents of the neighborhood who work at home have found it difficult to concentrate due to the noise from dirt bikes she said run continuously up to six hours a day.
“The noise can be heard on State Road (Route 2A), on Baldwinville Road, and on Ward Hill Road, among others,” she claimed.
She added that the proposed bylaw would have no effect on Phillipston businesses like Cycle Design — a motorcycle, dirt bike, side-by-side, scooter, and snowmobile dealer — “because they don’t run engines for six hours a day.”
Former Selectboard member Kim Pratt said a compromise needs to be found.
“I’ve been out doing my yard work and thinking how lovely it was to have quiet and solitude,” she said. “All this — I don’t know if it’s animus — but people who want to live quietly in their yard have just as much right as those who it doesn’t matter to.
“My feeling is people shouldn’t have to live with six hours of constant noise, where they have to go in their house and close their windows. That really isn’t fair.”
Ruth French said the impact of the proposed amendment goes beyond its possible effect on the Blake Corner neighborhood.
“I understand this petition was put forward because of a specific address on Blake Corner Road,” she said. “However, this is going to affect everybody in town who runs their dirt bike on their own property, and I would really appreciate this public hearing sticking to the facts as they relate to the entire town, and not making it into a complaint against one person.
“All I’m hearing is about Blake Corner Road. How does it affect everybody in town who maybe run a four-wheeler or a dirt bike or anything else over their own property? It’s going to make it illegal for them to do so.”
The public hearing was ultimately continued until the next Planning Board meeting on April 19. The hearing will resume via Zoom at 7:15 p.m.
Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com
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