RICHMOND — A local farm is looking to improve its financial stability by hosting events on its property, but some neighbors are concerned about potential noise.
The century-old Hilltop Orchards and Furnace Brook Winery on Canaan Road recently went before the Select Board seeking a town-issued special permit to host functions that could attract no more than 50 to 100 people. But during the review of farm managers and operators David and Sara Martell’s special permit application, several neighbors said they were caught by surprise, even though David Martell first broached the plan at an early January Select Board meeting.
In an effort to give concerned neighbors more time to review the special-permit request, the Select Board decided to delay its decision, giving residents time to directly ask Martell questions. Another local business, on the other hand, was granted an extension for its special permit during the meeting, with neighbors saying Balderdash Cellars is "a great neighbor."
VENUE OF EXPERIENCES
During the meeting, Martell described his proposed “small events” would entail for Hilltop Orchards: Private farm-to-table dinners and tastings; educational classes for hard cider and wine making; guided nature tours on the farm’s trail system; food preparation classes and public gatherings for events such as fundraisers, birthdays, anniversaries and bridal showers.
Hilltop Orchards, established in the early 1900s, produces more than 20 varieties of apples, plums, pears and grapes, and describes itself as the largest producer of fresh apple cider in the Berkshires. Owned by Wendy Vittori, it also sells winery-produced products.
David Martell, co-manager and operator with his wife Sara of Hilltop Orchards, checked out his pear crop last May. The Richmond Select Board is reviewing the farm's application for a special permit to hold small events at the Route 295 farm.
To achieve financial stability, Martell said, “We need to do more than what we’re doing now. The business has kind of plateaued but the cost of things has not, it continues to go up. We need to meet the demand of all the bills that are coming in the door.”
He proposed no more than two events a week, primarily Thursday, Friday or Saturday nights, none on Sunday nights, with no outdoor amplified music and no large weddings.
“We’re trying to sustain ourselves, keep it a family farm and not a development or something of that nature,” Martell said. “We really need the business right now.”
Events would be limited to the farm building, the gazebo in the front of the property, or the orchard.
Select Board member Roger Manzolini described the special permit request as necessary for the business's "sustainability."
"I don’t see anything out of the ordinary or detrimental to the neighborhood," Manzolini said.
Megan Rose, an immediate neighbor to the property, supported the concept but voiced concern about potential noise from music and the size of crowds.
Brittany Walsh and Brennon Stockton of Pittsfield taste wine at Hilltop Orchards home of Furnace Brook Winery in Richmond in 2022. The orchard and winery is hoping to add more events to its business model to improve its sustainability.
“We don’t want to be a venue of live music and entertainment,” Martell responded. “We want to be a venue of education and experiences.”
He said any events during evening hours would be held inside the farm building and Manzolini assured Rose that the Select Board would hold annual reviews of a special permit.
Neighbors Keith and Lucy Goldberg asked for more information, saying they had been caught off guard and wanted assurances that the town would review any complaints that might arise.
Manzolini suggested a two-week delay on a decision so the neighbors could examine the special permit application and pose any questions directly to Martell.
“The Right to Farm Act opens up a lot of doors for people who wish to farm,” Selectman Alan Hanson pointed out. But farm enterprises are subject to Select Board regulations “so they don’t get out of hand and affect the population of the town,” he said.
The discussion and potential action on the Hilltop Orchard special permit application will resume at 6 p.m. April 9.
'THINGS ARE BETTER'
Also at the March 26 Select Board meeting, the annual review of the Balderdash Cellars special permit for farm functions included acknowledgement of just one written complaint from a Richmond Shores neighbor about noise from indoor music at a Labor Day event.
People enjoy food and wine, and a view of Richmond Pond, at Balderdash Cellars in Richmond. The winery was recently granted an extension of its special permit through February 2027.
A new interior sound system will be installed with smaller, lower-volume speakers, said the winery’s owner, Christian Hanson. Select Board members said they had received no complaints.
“It appears you’re doing what we asked you to do with record-keeping,” Manzolini said.
“Things are better,” Miles Garfinkel, of Richmond Shores, agreed.
Chris White, the only direct abutter to Balderdash Cellars on State Road, praised the farm as a “great neighbor” and “a wonderful thing and it’s great for the town.”
He described an ongoing “healthy dialogue” to minimize sound drifting over to his property at times.
The Select Board approved an extension of the Balderdash special permit through February 2027. In February 2022, the Select Board signed a three-year special permit, ending a lawsuit filed in Berkshire Superior Court through an out-of-court settlement between four neighbors and Christian Hanson, the Balderdash owner.
