DANVERS, MA — Connors Farm ownership withdrew its request for live music during expanded October hours leading up to Halloween amid neighbor noise concerns voiced in front of the Danvers Select Board at last month’s public hearing.
Counsel representing the farm came back before the Select Board on Thursday with a revised proposal that was unanimously passed with the added provision that the farm must also provide police with a parking plan that shows adequate off-street parking for the October activities.
The Select Board had continued the public hearing pending more information, neighbor outreach and any permit revisions from Connors Farm.
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Under the permit, the farm will be allowed to stay open until 11 p.m. for Halloween-related programming during Friday and Saturday nights in October, on Sunday, Oct. 13 prior to the Columbus Day holiday, and on Halloween itself.
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A Connors Farm security official said sound-measuring devices were purchased after August’s meeting and measurements showed the sound coming from the farm using only the Halloween-related soundtrack was undecipherable as far away as the nearby homes in multiple locations.
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The official said he reached out to neighbors who spoke out against the Halloween permit at the August meeting and gave them all his personal cell phone number should they experience any trouble during the month of programming. That programming, as was stated at the August meeting, consists of standard Halloween-themed organs and other spooky sounds.
An attorney representing the farm said the issue of customers parking on Valley Road is more problematic because it is a state highway and parking is already not permitted on the road — making it more a matter of enforcement than anything the farm can do about a public road.
He said the farm has put a notice on its website and its property alerting customers that they should not park on the state road and instead should utilize the farm parking lot even if that means a longer walk to the entrance in some cases.
(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)
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