Proposed Changes to Commercial Activity

Since my last posting on the issue of Commercial Business in Glastonbury, I have had numerous conversations, discussions and debates on what business activites should be allowed.  The clearest statement made to me was that "Glastonbury needs to define what it is."

Long term residents have presented that the original intent of the Community, while administered by Church Universal and Triumphant, was to allow residents to conduct commercial operations in order to support themselves.  According to the Covenants in 1983, original landowners had to be "tithing members (i.e. those contributing 1/10th of their income to the Church) and approved by the Church, which made Glastonbury one of the most restrictive "GATED COMMUNITIES" that could be conceived of, and it assured only residents could operate businesses in Glastonbury.

The types of  business activities allowed and their impacts to neighbors were very constrained.  The original Commercial Activity covenant in 1983  at item i. stated "The Grantor shall have the discretion and authority to make additional rules and further restrict or limit any commercial activities which it deems to be inconsistent with the religious, educational, cultural, rural and residential principles and qualities of the Community and with the teachings of the Church."  This allowed the Grantor (Church) to require an established business be stopped and moved out of Glastonbury. 

In addition, item j.  allowed the Church to add restrictions by stating "and correspondingly substantially limit commercial activity throughout the rest of the residential portions of the Community.  Restrictions and limitations on commercial activity may be added to these covenants by the Grantor upon its execution of a written instrument describing the restrictions and the redecoration of the same in the office of Park County Clerk and Recorder;"  This emphasizes that the Community is to be a residential area and business activities that can not be concealed were to occur in specially designated and reserved areas - i.e. at the soccer fields in NG and the pasture lands in SG.

The first landowners who established these first covenants had common philosophies, beliefs and desires, which made conflicts unlikely and uniformity easy to achieve.  Today there are no restrictions on who can purchase land in Glastonbury and there are a lot more Landowners who have widely differing philosophies on life, religious or cultural beliefs and have extremely different desires for quietness and the visual appearance of lands and buildings around them. 

I join many landowners that do not want to see Glastonbury become the business hub for landowners in Pray or the Chico area and other subdivisions being developed in the valley.  I hope the original intent that only residents WITHIN Glastonbury operate businesses in the Community. 

I have concerns of the visual character of Glastonbury and the impacts business operations may have on land values.  Though I hope all commercial operations can be kept out of sight, I know that is impossible to achieve. 

The Landowners in Glastonbury need to define more specifically the visual character of the Community and the standards, and limits for business impacts acceptable in order to assure the rural/residential  desired by most current residents is maintained.