Woodstock Village ordinance regulating events on public land goes to voters (2024)

WOODSTOCK VILLAGE — Residents will vote on whether to uphold an ordinance that dictates the use of public spaces in Woodstock Village — including the Village Green — during a Special Town Meeting Tuesday.

The in-person meeting will take place at 5:30 p.m. at Woodstock Town Hall. Only registered voters who live in the village, which has about 900 residents, are eligible to vote. A “no” vote would uphold the ordinance as is, while a “yes” vote would mean the ordinance is overturned and will not go into effect.

The ordinance would limit the number of private events on the Green to 12 events per year and set up a fee structure for those who wish to rent it to use for events not open to the public. The ordinance also would allow Woodstock nonprofit organizations to use the Gore — a property across from the Green in front of the Norman Williams Public Library — for events and fundraisers.

When the ordinance came up for a vote in March, the Village Board of Trustees — which serves as the governing board for Woodstock Village — approved it unanimously. It was slated to go into effect May 11.

“I tend to think we should make decisions based on publicly available rules … and guidelines,” Village Trustees Chairwoman Seton McIlroy said, adding that approving events based on discretion made her uncomfortable. “We wanted to have a level playing field for everyone. You need to have policies and procedures to follow.”

The ordinance did not go into effect because after the Trustees approved the ordinance, resident Elisa Tarlow started a petition to overturn it, gathering more than 40 signatures, or 5% of the Village’s population. The petition required the Village Board of Trustees to set a warning for a Special Town Meeting.

The section of the ordinance that Tarlow said what she dislikes the most is a provision that would allow a private event to be held on the Village Green — located in the middle of Woodstock Village in between Norman Williams Public Library and Town Hall — once a month throughout the year.

“Most people I spoke with just felt like the Green should be a public space and it’s not appropriate for private events,” Tarlow said.

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Any person, organization or business that wishes to use the Green for an event would be required to apply for a permit, which the trustees could approve or deny.

“There are no rules right now,” McIlroy said. “It’s just at our discretion.”

The proposed ordinance removes the discretion for the number of events allowed on the Green each year; under the current ordinance the Trustees could theoretically allow an unlimited number of private events on the Green. The Trustees would retain the ability to deny a permit for a private event and could place conditions on the approval. Once granted, the board could also “revoke the license in its sole discretion at any time prior to expiration without penalty or liability, and to impose conditions upon the license in the public interest,” according to a copy of the proposed ordinance.

The Village Trustees began discussing the ordinance late last summer, after McIlroy discovered that the Village also owned a property across from the Green called the Gore, a grassy lawn outside the library. Town and library officials had previously thought the Gore belonged to the library, which had overseen its use over the years.

After McIlroy’s discovery, the library turned over its management of the Gore to the town. Since the Gore was not included in the current ordinance, the Trustees revised it to include it, as well as update the policy.

The new ordinance also reserved the Gore for Woodstock nonprofit organizations to use “any day of the year,” according to the proposed ordinance, for a $50 permit fee. Groups would still need to apply for permits which the Trustees can approve or deny the same way they would for use of the Green.

Woodstock Town Manager Eric Duffy said that the ordinance was discussed at multiple Village Trustees meetings before it was approved.

“There was no real negative pushback throughout the process,” Duffy said. That came afterward, when news spread on the Woodstock Listserv.

The ordinance revision that has caused the most discussion is the limit on private events on the Green, as well as creating a fee structure for renting it that ranges from $150 to $550, depending on the number of attendees. It allows for events of up to 100 people.

“This puts a cap on that to make sure it’s very limited,” Duffy said. “There’s also high fees so it ensures that residents aren’t playing tax dollars to clean up after or support a private event.”

McIlroy said she could only think of a handful of times in recent years that the Green has been rented out for private events. One was for a post-wedding brunch last summer and another was for a 50th anniversary party for fellow Trustee Jeffrey Kahn’s business, The Unicorn.

Tarlow said she is worried that allowing up to a dozen private events per year on the Green would encourage more private gatherings to take place, an increase from the handful that have taken place over the years.

“I think they (the Trustees) should actually say ‘we’re not going to have private parties on the Green,’ ” Tarlow said. “If there was a private event, I’d feel excluded from the Green.”

McIlroy emphasized that the Green is always open to the public, even if a private event is taking place.

“You can walk your dog through a wedding party,” she said.

Liz Sauchelli can be reached at esauchelli@vnews.com or 603-727-3221.

Woodstock Village ordinance regulating events on public land goes to voters (2024)

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