Lakeville zoning board delays appeal over alleged commercial firewood operation at 11 School Street

The Lakeville Zoning Board of Appeals on Jan. 15 continued an appeal by neighbor Paul Turner challenging Building Commissioner Nathan Darling's Nov. 26 decision to lift a cease-and-desist order for wood processing at 11 School Street.

At a packed hearing at the Lakeville Public Library, attorney John Markey, representing Turner, described a yearlong pattern of trucks, heavy equipment and conveyor operations on the property and presented photos and Ring-camera clips he said show 13 outbound truck trips in November alone. "This is about getting back the quiet and the peace that these folks invested their lives in," Markey told the board, urging the panel to treat the activity as a use not allowed in a residential subdivision.

Nathan Darling, the town's building commissioner and zoning enforcement officer, told the board he follows a stepwise enforcement process: receive a written complaint, do a site visit, review the file and, when warranted, issue a cease-and-desist. Darling said he had issued an earlier cease-and-desist, monitored activity and ultimately concluded in late November that the evidence before him did not definitively prove a commercial sale or other indicia of a business. "I can't tell somebody they're being untruthful without evidence to do that," he said, summarizing why he lifted the order and saying he would resume enforcement if additional evidence appears.

Neighbors who spoke described daily and weekend noise, visible piles of processed and unprocessed wood, and deliveries that they said were inconsistent with solely personal use. Elvis Lopes, who lives across the street, described repeated weekend and holiday chainsaw activity and said he heard the property owner boast about sales: "He said to me, 'I'm making money.'" Monique, another abutter, said industrial-strength chainsaw noise has left her keeping the blinds closed and unable to spend time outside.

The legal question for the board was narrow but consequential: whether the activity at 11 School Street, as it existed and as presented in the hearing record, amounted to a use not permitted by the town's zoning bylaw. Town counsel explained the board reviews the building commissioner's decision de novo; that is, the board decides the case anew on the evidence before it, including testimony heard at the hearing.

Board members and counsel discussed various enforcement markers — proof of sale or advertising, the volume of wood and the presence of commercial equipment — and acknowledged the tension between residents' legitimate use of property for heating and the scale of operations alleged. Markey and several neighbors said the frequency of trips and the amount of processed wood shown in submitted photos and video supported a finding of commercial use; Darling and counsel said courts may look for evidence of a pecuniary benefit but that local boards also exercise judgment about what constitutes an ongoing commercial operation.

Given new testimony and material presented at the hearing, the board voted unanimously to continue the appeal to Feb. 12 to allow the building commissioner and neighbors time to develop a clearer record and, if warranted, for abutters to file additional enforcement complaints. The board also approved minutes from its Dec. 18 meeting before adjourning.

The hearing is scheduled to resume Feb. 12 at 7 p.m. at the Lakeville Public Library; the building commissioner said he will continue to monitor the property and may reissue enforcement if new evidence of commercial sale or advertising emerges.