The Harvard Board of Health has been concerned about septic flow for the Appleworks building on Ayer Road for years, according to Ira Grossman, sanitarian for the Nashoba Associated Boards of Health, which enforces state and local sanitary codes for its 15 member communities. Grossman said his concerns led him to seek “a conversation on the usage of the building” with its owner, Nicholas Deane of Deane Development LLC.
That conversation, at the Harvard board’s Oct. 24 meeting, became a verbal fencing match between Grossman and Deane. Grossman repeatedly cited instances where he said Deane had accepted tenants whose businesses did not fit into the two very limited categories that are permitted for the building: dry goods and office space. In particular, Grossman pointed to former tenants including a cider company and a laboratory, as well as a current coffee-roasting company and an exercise studio.
In response, Deane asserted he has never overloaded the septic system. In several cases, he said, he assumed his tenants had been to all the necessary boards. The cider company, for example, had been approved by the selectmen and the state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission, Deane said. And one lab had received a special permit in the 1990s, so Deane said he had assumed that another lab was acceptable, even though—as Grossman quickly pointed out—the first lab worked with electronics and the second with chemicals.
Grossman said any change of use requires a permit under Title 5 septic rules. None of the dentists, doctors, or food services that have operated in the building have been permitted, he said. He also pointed out that the restaurant Siam Pepper has seating for 30 people, double what was established under an old food service permit that may have been issued in the 1980s for a sandwich shop then run by the building’s former owner, Bill Cory. The Board of Health has been searching for that permit or any updates to it but had not located it in time for the meeting with Deane. Grossman said Deane’s advertisements for new tenants should be clear that there are septic limitations, and permits are required.
While none of the issues was fully resolved, Deane told the board, “I will make sure before we even talk about a lease [with future tenants] that they come and see you.”
