By Bill Price. Editor
Published October 1, 2024.

The Platt brothers withdrew their request for a Special Permit to operate a tent-camping site on their property in Roosterville at the Select Board meeting, September 30.

They felt obliged to withdraw because, in their opinion, the local Board of Health and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has presented them with sets of regulations that, as the Platts understand them, are conflicting and unnecessarily complicated.

So conflicted and complicated in fact that the Platts believe that they need a legal representative to help them sort out the various requirements and need time to do so. The Select Board appeared sympathetic and allowed them to withdraw the proposal "without prejudice," which means that they can resubmit their plan at any time, although it was left unclear whether the brothers would have to start over from scratch. It is possible that they could circumvent some of the initial legal steps and pick up where they left off.

How We Got Here

The brothers have been pursuing permits for their campsite proposal for nearly two years. (See The Times' Special Report online at sandisfieldtimes.org, September 2024 , and an earlier report in the August 2023 Times).

The location, near their family home (since 1940) on the west side of the Farmington River - the only house on that side of the Clark Road bridge - is not far from the popular Hanging Mountain climbing site to the south on Rt. 8. The brothers have been told by several climbers that because of limited places to stay in Sandisfield they would appreciate a place to camp overnight. Many of the climbers cannot afford an Airbnb or the New Boston Inn and would prefer to camp out anyway.

The brothers came up with a plan to build a camping site on the same ground where their father, Willard Platt Senior, had operated an informal camping site many years ago. Once their plans formed, the Town's Planning Board held a Community Outreach Meeting regarding a proposed camping bylaw, attended by the full Select and Planning Boards, representatives from the Conservation Committee, and about twenty-five residents. Concerns were discussed including sanitation requirements, fire pits, parking, lighting, noise, and enforcement. The result was a Camping Bylaw presented by the Planning Board at this year's Annual Town Meeting. When the proposal failed to pass, the brothers were encouraged to seek a Special Permit from the Select Board, using the bylaw proposal as a guide.

Thus, the September 30 Select Board meeting for a Special Permit request, which is now in abeyance.

The Petition in Opposition

In the meantime, opposition began to grow in Town and a petition was circulated in August asking the Select Board to disapprove the Special Permit request. The petition was circulated through parts of Sandisfield by Dominic Konstam, a property abutter, and other concerned residents. Konstam's property, on the mountain above the Platt brothers home in Roosterville, consists of several hundred acres of woodland. The petition read:

We, the undersigned, do not approve the development of a campground at property owned by the Platt brothers at 4 Clark Road. We ask that the Board of Selectmen deny the application for a special permit for the purpose of the following reasons:

The townspeople did not approve the proposed new camping bylaw designed to promote the development of campgrounds at a town meeting on May 18th, 2024.

1. An increase in noise pollution disrupting the peace and quiet for all abutters and residents.
2. Negative impact on property owners for adjacent landowners
3. Concerns about increased incident of trespassing on to surrounding properties.
4. The increased risk of liability to the town relative to injuries and potential use of emergency services.

The Response from the Platt Brothers

In response, the brothers sent a Letter to the Editor at The Times, which was received too late to be included in our September issue. However, The Times feels the information in the letter is important to counter what the brothers see as misinformation in the petition. Printing the letter here - along with the preceding petition - is The Times' attempt to add clarity to these issues which are creating confusion and some anger among our community.

Following are excerpts from the letter the Platt brothers wrote.

Dear Reader:

Little Bridge Farm Tent Camping has entered the special permit stage of approvals. . . . [When the bylaw plan was rejected at Town Meeting,] it was explained in depth to the voters that a "no vote" would not stop tent camping; it's just that there would be no town regulations on camping. So when the voters failed to pass the bylaws, the only take away is the voters did not want more regulations. . . . We have been more than open with our intentions over the last two years.

It's come to our attention that people are spreading misinformation and untruths about the tent camping area. To clear some of this up, there will only be tenters - hence the name Little Bridge Farm Tent Camping. There will be no travel trailers or motor homes allowed. All activities at the campground will be monitored, and any unruly or out-ofcontrol campers will be dealt with immediately. . . .

Willard and Robert Platt

The Platt's full letter can be read at the September Special Report online at sandisfieldtimes.org.