Zoning Board Turns Down Recreational Field Plans

Plans to turn a residential property into commercial playing fields were halted again at last night’s zoning meeting.

The Amherst Zoning Board of Adjustment denied Brad Knight’s request for a variance in the zoning code in order to establish a commercial recreational use for his property at 12 Stearns Road.

This is the second time the board has denied Knight’s request to turn his property into a replacement for the recreational space at Cemetery Fields, which will be unavailable after September, 2014. He was granted a rehearing on his application, which has since undergone revisions to lessen potential impact.

For example, the application initially included a festival, farmer’s markets and scouting events on the property. The revised application only included soccer, lacrosse, football and wedding events on the 57-acre property.

His property lies in a rural residential zone, which does not allow commercial activity without the required variances. Knight had requested variances from the Residential Rural Zone, Floodplain Conservation District, Wetland Conservation District, Watershed Protection District and Aquifer Conservation District

Knight’s application had to satisfy five tests in order for the variance to be approved, which it failed to do for the Rural Residential Zone. It did pass through the other four variances, but Knight is still unable to proceed with his plans without all of them.

The board decided that the application was not contrary to public interest and was consistent with the spirit and intent of the ordinance. However, the application failed to show that substantial justice had been done, that values of surrounding properties would not be diminished and would not result in unnecessary hardship.

Finding a replacement to Cemetery Fields has been to putting one on Stearns Road. Previous owners Benjamin and Rosemary Brewster had also failed to turn the property into playing fields.

Knight did not wish to comment on the board's decision Tuesday night.