Lakeville Zoning Board Orders Conditions Barring Commercial Firewood Operation at School Street Home

LAKEVILLE -- May 21, 2026, Lakeville Zoning Board closes months-long firewood enforcement hearing and orders conditioned cease-and-desist for School Street property. The four-member board voted unanimously Thursday to direct new Town Counsel Jay Tallman to draft an order barring property owner Walsh from importing wood for commercial purposes, storing wood for sale, exporting processed firewood, or using a conveyor belt for commercial activity at 11 School Street, a residential address. Appellant Paul Turner of 1 Ledgewood Drive told the board the operation ran "almost daily for nine months" starting in March 2025, producing an estimated 40 cords in one documented month alone, and retreated only after he filed his appeal in December. Neighbor Sherry Pinter of 9 School Street testified Walsh told her the wood "comes in to me," directly contradicting any personal-use defense. Tallman, attending his first meeting with the board, explained members could uphold the building commissioner's earlier decision lifting the cease-and-desist while simultaneously issuing prospective prohibitions, telling the board "there's not a lot of black and whites that I've seen here, but bringing on material, that's really black and white." The board also agreed to give Walsh 30 days to remove existing on-site inventory in unprocessed form, and unanimously recommended Andrew Gay, a retired union carpenter with an unrestricted Massachusetts builder's license, to the Select Board as an associate member candidate.