SEYMOUR – No decision was made Thursday (June 11) by the Seymour Zoning Board of Appeals on a cease and desist order against the 110-year-old Red Clover Farm.
Instead, the ZBA closed a public hearing that was continued from last month and now has 65 days to act.
ZBA Chairman Phil Wilhelmy said the board would likely make a decision at its next meeting scheduled for Aug. 6.
“We’re only going to decide whether the zoning enforcement officer did his job and whether the cease and desist order was warranted,” Wilhelmy said.
The matter at hand stems from a cease and desist order from the town’s zoning enforcement officer, acting on a complaint from a neighbor, issued to Red Clover Farm at 174 South Benham Rd. on April 13.
The neighbors were Al and Kristen Bruno, who said the farm was violating land use regulations by featuring events like open mic nights, a food truck appearance and live music. Al Bruno is a member of the town’s Board of Selectpersons and Kristen Bruno is a member of the school board.
The Brunos have said the activities held at the farm are commercial uses not allowed on the property, which is zoned residential.
Farm owner Kim Dulka Warner appealed the cease and desist order, which brought the matter to the ZBA. Dulka has said repeatedly modern community farms need to diversify beyond planting crops to stay in business.
Dulka Warner has garnered significant public support, with people packing the first ZBA hearing on the matter held in May.
During Thursday’s second hearing, ZEO Mike Marganski said the property has been conducting business activities not permitted in the residential zone, and has advertised itself as a “multi-use commercial venue.”
In July 2020, the town granted Dulka Warner an application to convert one of the farm’s barns into a farm stand, but noted that “demonstrations, workshops, hosting gatherings for tastings and/or farm-to-table meals are not considered incidental uses.”
Marganski said that in 2024, the Naugatuck Valley Health District issued a cease-and-desist order for farm-to-table dinners being hosted at the farm, noting Red Clover Farm did not have approved kitchen equipment, or a food protection manager, as required.
Other non-compliance issues Marganski pointed out included improper placement of a fire extinguisher and having tables and chairs in the barn for people to assemble, all of which Marganski said are prohibited.
Dulka Warner said she never received complaints from anyone about her farm activities, except from the Brunos, who also lodged numerous complaints about Dulka Warner’s barking dogs. Dulka Warner and other farmers said farm dogs bark or the donkeys bray when predators are near.
“There’s no doubt this came from a neighbors’ dispute,” Marganski said. “But this all shows a pattern to me and I have a concern for the general health and welfare of the community.”
Prior to the board voting to hold off on a decision, a public hearing that lasted nearly three hours took place at the Seymour Community Center.
About 75 people showed up in support of Dulka Warner. And just like at the previous public hearing on May 7, one person after another urged the board to drop the order against the farm and voiced support for the farm and Dulka Warner.
“Red Clover Farms is not just some property, it’s part of the fabric of this community,” said Seymour resident Melissa Randi. “This decision is about more than a farm, it’s about the voices of our community being heard.”
Oxford resident Deborah Alterio told the board to “stop the madness” and allow Red Clover Farm to remain an asset in the community.
“Red Clover Farms is not hosting Woodstock, they’re trying to have someone play music in the back of the barn,” Alterio said. “You have no farms left and the town should hold onto the ones they do dearly.”
Oxford farmer Michael Bawlick said he knows what goes into running a farm.
“It takes a lot of fortitude, hard work and sweat and Kim has done that,” Bawlick said.
Resident Christine Lester said farms need to stick around.
“They’re helping our children learn how to grow stuff and make stuff other than them playing computer and video games,” Lester said.
The ZBA meeting Thursday was one of two municipal meetings related to farming.
Members of the Seymour Planning and Zoning Commission met separately to work on rewriting part of the zoning code to allow “agritourism.” The move came from a suggestion by Seymour First Selectwoman Annmarie Drugonis.
If the zone text is changed, it would, presumably, make the activities at Red Clover Farm legal.
The Seymour Planning & Zoning Commission is scheduled to hold a hearing in July to hear from the public about the zone tweak.