Cease-And-Desist Order Upheld For Enfield Property

ENFIELD, CT — A town zoning board has rejected an appeal involving a wood and mulch operation on Shaker Road, leaving a cease-and-desist order in place.

The Zoning Board of Appeals denied property owner Joseph Raschi’s appeal during a special meeting last week.. The order applies to 130 Shaker Road, a 9.68-acre property in an industrial zone.

The town issued the cease-and-desist order March 27, alleging a violation of the industrial-use section of Enfield’s zoning regulations.

According to a town staff report, manufacturing and processing wood and mulch on the property requires a special-use permit from the Planning and Zoning Commission. Zoning officials said they found no record of such an approval.

Raschi purchased the property in August 2020. Zoning Enforcement Officer Rick Rachele said in the report that the operation has intensified since then, with much of the wooded portion of the property removed.

Rachele also said aerial photographs show piles of wood and mulch on the site, including some within a required 150-foot setback because the property is across the street from a residential zone.

Raschi has disputed the town’s position. During a June hearing, he told the board that the property had been used for the same purpose for as long as he could remember, including by its previous owner.

His attorney, George Schober, previously asked the board for additional time so a site plan could be completed and a special-use application could be presented to the Planning and Zoning Department.

The board granted the owner more time, but members said Monday that the required application materials had still not been submitted. The board then rejected the appeal, allowing the cease-and-desist order to stand.

The vote concerned only the appeal of the enforcement order. Any future request for special-use approval would be considered separately by the Planning and Zoning Commission.

The board also continued a separate appeal involving Raschi’s property at 174 Shaker Road until Sept. 28. That cease-and-desist appeal was not decided Monday.

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