By Dawn De Busk

Staff Writer

NAPLES — The rift started before the wedding date has even been set. 

Some Naples residents would like to be able to turn a barn on a large parcel of property into a wedding barn and charge clients to hold events there. However, this activity is not allowed in the Rural District, where these privately-ownedbarns are located. 

So, the Naples Ordinance Review Committee (ORC) has been devoting time to crafting an ordinance that would allow events like weddings, anniversaries, family reunions and retirement parties in renovated barns in the Rural District.  

Recently, a resident turned in to the Naples town office a bonafide citizens’ petition, which will force a proposed events barns ordinance to be decided by the residents either by a ballot or at town meeting. Therefore, the voters are likely to be looking at two ordinances addressing private events in the rural district. 

“Is everyone aware that a petition has been given to the town, with the required number of signatures. We are going to end up in the situation no matter what: We are going to have competing items on the ballot,” Naples Chair Jim Grattelo said. “The petition is to have private events allowed in the rural district.”

“There are several items in the petition I actually agree with and are stricter than this ordinance. There are several items in the petition that weaken this proposal,” he said.

Grattelo talked about the petition during an ordinance workshop on Feb. 16.

The workshop was attended by the Naples Board of Selectmen, the Naples Planning Board and the Naples Ordinance Review Committee (ORC.)

The items on the agenda for that evening included proposed amendments to the Solar Ordinance and also the proposed Private Events Ordinance. 

Grattelo compared the two proposals, starting with number of people.   

“What they are suggesting is a max of 190 people,” he said. “I think that is the right number. I think we should have a number, but that is going to solve a lot of the issues that are going to come up.” 

“Hours of operation — they are saying 10 p.m.; the town is saying 11 p.m.,” Grattelo said. 

The town-generated ordinance indicates that amplified music stops at 9:30 p.m., and the eventends at 10 p.m. However, clean-up activities can continue until 11 p.m. 

“Noise. The petition refers to the regular noise ordinance, following that,” he said. “Owner-occupancy. The petition said the owner should live on the property. Ours says the owner just has to live in Naples, not on the property.”

Later, in the discussion, Skip Meeker said it would be preferable to have a specific shut-off time for the music, rather than to rely on a decibel reader to make sure the noise ordinance is being followed. 

Conversation about commercial kitchen

 “The final biggest separation was having their own kitchen. I don’t know how we get around that, other than the description of the facility clearly states it is a private function and cannot be open to the public,” Grattelo said, 

Later, he expressed his concern that having a commercial kitchen would make it easy for the business to become a restaurant. 

ORC Chair Skip Meeker noted “traffic control is not on petition.”

Grattelo said there were way to specify that it isn’t open to the general public. 

“I think under the definition I don’t want to call it an events venue, I want to call it a private events venue,” he said. 

Grattelo said that was one way to specify that the facility is not open to the general public like a restaurant would be. 

“That takes away the problem of having it in the commercial district. The whole purpose is to make it work in the rural district,” according to planning board member Jimmy Allen. 

“I don’t see the problem with having a commercial kitchen to do the catering. They still have togo through DHHS [Department of Health and Human Services] to get inspected and approved,” Allen said. 

Later during the workshop, Planner Ben Smith, of North Star Planning, spoke about the commercial kitchen component. 

“There was discussion early in ORC process: Should the commercial kitchen be allowed to be built for this type of use? 

Is this the type of place? Having a kitchen on site for the caterer to use could be a nice feature,” Smith said. “But, when it comes to food and drink, it should be clear, that this is not a restaurant that has hours outside of those events.”

Grattelo said his “biggest concern is that these places don’t become a restaurant.”

In the language of the ordinance, under food and drink service, it says, “A restaurant use in not allowed as part of an Event Venue.”

Meeker asked what type of liquor license would be allowed. The answer: the caterers would carry the liquor license rather than the owner of the venue.

However, the owner of the event venue would be required to get an annual business license. 

Maximum guests, minimum acres

Allen revisited the maximum capacity. 

“When you talk about numbers, there are a couple of us who have been to wedding in this town that had 350 people,” Allen said.

“Right, but that facility could handle that,” Grattelo countered. 

One question being considered during the workshop was: How many acres should be required for an events venue?

“If you have an antique barn that can only handle 50 people, you don’t need 50 acres,” Planning Board member Larry Anton said.

The acreage requirement is intended to be a buffer, Grattelo said. 

Planner Smith said, “I don’t think we need to dwell on the minimum lot size. We could do 30 acres and go from there, unless we think that would unfairly exclude some other landowner.”

Someone suggested the number of people should be capped at 200. 

Several elected officials said they were worried about neighbors in rural district

“My concern is the effect on the neighbors,” Anton said.  

Grattelo said he sided with the people living in the rural district.

“I honestly believe that if the majority of the people in town found out that an event center in their rural area, unless we put enough restrictions, they are not going to go for it. I would be trying to appease as many people as possible for this to pass,” he said. 

“I think we draft it the best way we can to protect the rural areas and the neighbors,” Grattelo said.

Going forward, the ORC, which has spent several months researching what other towns are doing and writing up the proposal, will make the suggested changes and have a draft ready in a couple weeks.