To the editor:

‘The Curious Case of Weatherlow Farms’ has the makings of a mystery novel that promises to unfold further at next Tuesday’s Board of Selectmen Public Hearing — set for 6 p.m. at Town Hall on 816 Main Road – when residents like me plan to voice our opposition to Weatherlow Farms LLC’s application for a permanent On-Premises All-Alcohol Annual Liquor License to replace the one-day licenses freely issued last year for its ‘farm-theme’ special events.

Sounds like routine administrative doings, but don’t be fooled. This may well be the ‘last call’ for Westporters to halt — or at least slow the pace until numerous issues are resolved – of what many perceive as flagrant misuse of the town’s recent agricultural-tourism bylaw intended to help preserve local farms.

Like most who are not abutters to this Sodom Road-based working farm, I was blindsided by Weatherlow Farms’ application for a 365-day, year-round license to serve ‘full alcohol’ from 11 a.m. until 11 p.m. from its Café — a bar newly-morphed from the retail outlet for farm products previously marketed as The Store at Weatherlow Farms, that’s currently open to the public for a few hours only on Thursday thru Sunday — or by appointment.

Weatherlow Farms promotes itself publicly as “First and foremost, a working farm” that does “on occasion open our doors for a farm-related event.” If this branding rhetoric is to be believed, then this seasonal June-through-October operation that portends to offer infrequent ‘farm-themed’ events as an adjunct to its farming operation clearly has no need for a 365-day full license.

It’s questionable, still, whether under closer Agricultural Preservation Restrictions (APR) scrutiny, imbibing cocktails within sight of grazing cows and chickens — in close proximity to a ‘pretend cow barn’ that’s morphed into a 200-guest function hall renting as a $12,500-per-pop wedding-cum-reception venue – actually qualifies as a “farm-related experience.”

The issuance of a year-round All-Alcohol License would also have an adverse effect on residents in proximity to Sodom Road, who currently enjoy the tranquility of an agricultural-residential zoned setting, and create a traffic nuisance for visitors and the community-at-large (pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists) — from both Westport (MA) and Adamsville (RI) — who routinely access Sodom Road via Main Road, Adamsville Road, Charlotte White Road and American Legion Highway (Route 177).

Wake up Westport! There’s a lot at stake here as Weatherlow Farms seeks to lubricate, with alcohol, the already ‘slippery slope’ of unchecked development under the guise of ‘agri-tourism.

Either the farce stops here, or town departments might well be presented with a cascade of future applications for new entertainment licenses for barnyard-themed concerts and zoning waivers for conversion of a chicken coop into a bed-and-breakfast.

It’s commendable that well-financed businesses contribute to economic development within our town’s borders, but residents need to be ‘woke’ to the prospect of the ‘tail wagging the dog’ — or should I say ‘cow’ — with regard to Westport’s too vaguely drafted agricultural-tourism bylaw.

Arlene R. Martel

Westport