Williamstown Residents Push ZBA To Take Up Biker Rally
 Residents of the Hopper Road area wanted to continue discussion of the proposed 'Hogs on the Farm' event after the ZBA meeting ended. |
More than a dozen residents of the Hopper Road neighborhood attended the session anticipating a public hearing on an application for a camping permit for the planned Aug. 17-19 Hogs on the Farm motorcycle rally.
But the applicant, Charles "Rusty" Ransford, withdrew his application. There was no hearing, the meeting was over 24 minutes after it started. But many in the crowd wanted to know why the ZBA was unable to take testimony on the issue in light of the fact that Ransford continues to say he will welcome anyone who shows up on his land to camp there free of charge on the mid-August weekend.
"What about the pollution? What about the noise? What is our only recourse?" Robert Hatton of Potter Road asked board members from the back of the room after the meeting had adjourned.
ZBA Chairman Andrew Hoar and board member David Levine explained that there was no reason for the board to consider the event because it had no active applications before it.
"It's a moot point," Hoar said. "Without a petition before the board, there is nothing for this board to act on."
"Town boards have certain defined responsibilities," said Levine.
A month ago, Ransford and the Snowford Foundation were pursuing applications before the town's Selectmen and ZBA for an entertainment license and camping permit, respectively.
Those applications began after the Selectmen, in consultation with Town Counsel Joel Bard, told Ransford he needed to seek permits to hold what at the time was billed as a fundraiser for U.S. military veterans with an advertised admission fee of $50.
Ransford at first said he would pursue all the permits but on July 6, he sent a letter notifying the town he would not because the Snowford Foundation had dropped its support.
On Thursday, he asked the ZBA to allow him to withdraw the application he had before that panel.
"There's been some controversy, and the (Snowford Foundation) board wanted to avoid controversy," Ransford said. According to filings with the secretary of state's office, the foundation was established in May with directors Ransford, Angela and Darlene Fagley, and Thomas Snow.
The problem for many in the neighborhood is that while Ransford is not pursuing any permitting for the event, he still is inviting anyone who wants to attend to do so free of charge.
And it is that lack of an admission charge that changes the equation.
Hoar read a portion of a letter the town received from Bard clarifying that his initial opinions about what permits Hogs on the Farm would need were based on the premise that it would be a fee-based fundraiser and, therefore, a commercial enterprise.
Now that Ransford is not charging admission, there is nothing to prevent him from welcoming anyone who wants to stay on his farm for "primitive camping."
Ransford noted in his July 6 letter and again on Thursday in discussion with the ZBA that the event has been heavily advertised, and he cannot control who may have seen the publicity. Rather than anger anyone who arrives at his property on Aug. 17, he plans to make the land available to anyone who wants to camp.
"I would expect as few as 10 or 12 people," Ransford said. "It may be as many as 100, but I really don't think it will be that many."
The Facebook page for the Hogs on the Farm event gives the appearance that all systems are go for the event.
As of Thursday evening, the page still had a post dated July 2 that read:
"Due to events, unforeseen, we have made some changes for this year. There will be a free-will donation at the door. This is our first year and we are still feeling things out. If we get a pretty good turn-out, we hope to have something a little bigger next year. There has been much opposition, but we aren't going to give up. It is not in a biker's nature! Hope to see ya there!"
Likewise, a detailed listing for the event (without any reference to an admission charge or donation) still appears on the website www.bikerplaza.com as of Thursday evening.
 Attorney Donald Dubendorf convinced the board that his clients, the Baers, did not need a variance for renovations. |
One thing that will not come next is a new application for a camping permit. Town Planner Andrew Groff, who advises the ZBA, said there was no way Ransford could resubmit another application to the board in time to have approval in place before the Aug. 17 event. The board's next scheduled meeting is Aug. 16.
The only other item on the ZBA's agenda Thursday was a request by Bradford and Pamela Baer to overturn a decision by the town's Office of Inspection Services that the Baers needed a variance to renovate a non-conforming single-family home at 23 McCauley Lane.
The Baers were represented by Williamstown attorney Donald Dubendorf, who persuaded the board that since the planned renovation was not going to expand the structure or intensify the non-compliance, the couple could make the changes as a matter of right, without the need for a variance.
Before calling a vote that ultimately went 4-0 in favor of the Baers, Hoar paused and addressed the near-capacity crowd.
"Is anyone (else) here to speak for or against this motion?" Hoar asked.
After hearing nothing, he deadpanned, "I didn't think so."
Tags: biker rally, camping, permitting, Ransford, ZBA,
