West Stockbridge — Following a May 1 Planning Board meeting, a new equestrian center is slated to open at 72 West Alford Road.
Dr. Dory Klotz Czech, an equine veterinarian and award-winning European horse show jumper, recently received her state certification enabling her to open a riding school on the historic 63-acre estate. Last year, the property was purchased by Blueberry Hill LLC, of which Gabriel Kaufman is principal and, together with Czech, will manage the business—the Berkshire Pony Club—offering lessons to individuals of all ages.
Seven horses will reside on the estate, according to Czech, with two of those horses retired and five horses available for lessons.
The Planning Board held a public hearing in April on the special permit application that was filed in January and conferred a site visit last month. By unanimous vote, new plans submitted April 30 were approved and a special permit granted to The Pony Club with special conditions. One of those conditions resolves a concern over what type of signage is warranted by the property and acceptable to abutters who share a driveway with the site.
West Alford Road abutters Alice and George Frelinghuysen share a portion of the Blueberry Hill LLC driveway by virtue of an easement. Part of the issue concerning directional signage for the new facility falls on the road’s name—that is, the name is confusing since it changes several times at various turns. It was once known as West Road, George Frelinghuysen said, and was changed to Wilson Road to denote the stretch running from West Center Road to the junction with West Alford and Wilson roads. Then the path becomes West Alford Road again. “It’s very confusing,” he said.
The road leading up to the Blueberry Hill property includes a single-lane dirt road stretch of Easland Road, with no room for passing and not much maintenance by the town. Blueberry Hill LLC now owns the portion of the road that is on its private property. An existing sign at the property and on West Alford Road currently states “Blueberry Hill Farm.”
All parties agreed that the goal was for people entering and exiting the riding school to use the main driveway off West Alford Road and to encourage visitors not to enter the adjoining Frelinghuysen property.
Although the Frelinghuysens didn’t object to the shared driveway serving both their home and the riding center or its current sign, George Frelinghuysen said, via Zoom, he didn’t want a sign reflecting a commercial entity, the Berkshire Pony Club.
Board Member Christopher Tonini suggested renaming the private drive to denote the entity, such as “Sportsman Club Lane” or, in this case, “Pony Club Lane,” to avoid confusion. However, the group noted that remedy may have legal implications.
Alternatively, George Frelinghuysen found a successful solution that was incorporated as a condition to the special permit: posting external directional signs depicting silhouettes of horses at the base of Easland Road at the intersection of West Alford as well as at the end of the shared driveway. The signs will have directional arrows as needed and will be used in lieu of the name of the enterprise, Berkshire Pony Club.
“[That] should be good enough for people to keep off my road,” George Frelinghuysen said.
Other incorporated conditions suggested by Fire Chief Vincent Garofoli for fire truck access and safety include trimming trees on the first part of the driveway to a 14-foot height and providing a 10-foot-by-40-foot fire truck pullout along the section of the driveway off West Alford Road as well as a fire truck turnaround near the stables with a wide-sweeping turn from the upper end of Easland Road. The vegetation trimming was needed so fire trucks can get under the trees without hitting branches.
The property’s drainage issues were also addressed in the special permit conditions. The small culvert at the end of the shared driveway at West Alford Road will be replaced with a larger culvert and regrading improvements made to that area’s drainage to the satisfaction of the West Stockbridge Highway Department.
In the revised plans, the stable was relocated so less grading would be needed for drainage and runoff. Some trees will be removed in the regrading process and a boulder retaining wall implemented.
Lighting was discussed, with the permit requiring the arena lighting to be dark-sky compliant, pointing downward. Planning Board Chair Dana Bixby said she was concerned about the arena lighting since it is a large area and wanted to avoid disturbing neighbors. The lighting will only be used during lessons or in an emergency, to light the area should a horse be ill and need to walk.
The fence surrounding the open-air arena was increased in height, per the revised plans, from four feet to six feet, requiring a permit. Four parking spaces will be allotted at the equestrian center.
Lessons will be limited to between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday, with a maximum of five lessons per day within that time frame. Czech previously said she wanted the flexibility of those hours to be able to accommodate students and each of the five operating horses would only be used for one hour per day.
Other special permit provisions approved include disallowing any amplified sound, restricting horse riding to the Blueberry Hill Farm property, and stabilizing all slopes involved in tree removal and regrading.
