The owners of the 120-acre Carlson Orchards on Oak Hill Road must wait until the next Select Board meeting to see whether the board will approve their application to serve hard cider onsite. They want to serve the cider from a 2,520-square-foot, 99-person capacity taproom—with covered porch and patio—that was built last summer. The taproom needs approval from the Select Board before it can be granted a license from the state’s Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission. Proposed hours of operation are Thursday through Sunday, opening at 11 a.m. each day, and closing at 6 p.m. Thursday and Sunday and 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
This is the second application from Carlson Orchards, which was granted a pouring license by the board last June, but later withdrew the application after opponents sent a petition to the ABCC raising concerns about traffic, noise, and hours of operation.
A crowd of about 75 attended the Jan. 21 license hearing but was told by Rich Maoire, who was chairing the meeting, that given the absence of two members, the board would wait until Feb. 4 to set conditions and vote. Twenty citizens spoke, with 10 in favor, and 10 speaking in opposition. Proponents—many of them members of the Lions Club—expressed trust in applicant and Lions Club supporter Franklyn Carlson, while other proponents warned that farms that fail to diversify are at risk in today’s economy. Opponents largely focused on worries about disruption in the Oak Hill neighborhood from inebriated drivers, increased traffic, noise, and litter.
Abutter Scott Fisher said he had lived in town for three years and wanted to see local businesses succeed. “I trust the Carlsons to keep control of the situation,” he said. Seeming to address the several opponents who said they wanted the orchard to succeed but objected strongly to the taproom, Christian Bilodeau of Turner Lane said, “People say they want farmers to succeed, but what they’re doing doesn’t help.” Warren Avenue resident Bill Johnson hearkened back to his time on the Select Board, during which the board granted the Harvard General Store licenses to sell and serve alcohol. Johnson advised that deliberations “be consistent and fair,” and that the “greater good” be considered in relation to concerns about safety, noise, and lighting. “We must treat them the same as the General Store,” he said.
Of the 10 who spoke in opposition, four were members of the Green family of Westward Orchards. Don Green pointed out that his family not only lives on Oak Hill Road, but also grows vegetables nearby and must drive a tractor past Carlson Orchards to reach that farm. “Safety is the most important thing to me and my family,” he said. Judith Schutzman of Littleton County Road was also wary of the taproom. “We can’t just trust it’ll just work out. It’s a dangerous road,” she said.
Carlson Orchards is already licensed to sell hard cider in cans and growlers at its farm store and to pour small tasting samples at the taproom. The license it seeks now—which requires yearly renewal—is called a Farmer Series Pouring Permit. Some of the conditions yet to be set by the Select Board are hours, parking restrictions, and occupancy; the taproom seats 99, but the covered porch and patio could accommodate 140 more people, for a grand total of 239. The Carlsons’ plans to use the new barn-like structure for occasional private events would require a separate license.
