Zoning Board Approves Home Coffee Roasting Permit

Zoning Board · Meeting of January 15, 2026

West Boylston's Zoning Board of Appeals voted 5-0 to approve a home occupation permit for a basement coffee-roasting business. The board granted Benjamin Leaker's special permit for a countertop roaster at 58 Scarlett Street, attaching conditions that the operation produce no odor "beyond that incidental to normal residential use" and bar on-site sales or pickups. Vice Chair Barur R. Rajeshkumar pushed back on assurances the process would be odor-free, noting, "we don't know until you actually went to do it." Newton Street resident Richard Footner asked for an enforcement mechanism, citing his wife's sensitivity to airborne irritants and past odor complaints involving a Sudbury Street business.

Clerk David Femia said the plan met all ten of the town's home-occupation standards, including a 25 percent floor-area cap. The board also closed the hearing 5-0 before voting and separately approved minutes from three prior meetings, 4-0 each.

In the full story:

• The Full Story
• Why It Matters
• Key Motions & Votes
• Source
• West Boylston's community access TV: Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, January 15, 2026
• The complete report: 812 words

Source: the Zoning Board meeting of January 15, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.