Tea House rezoning bid fails

by Larry Austin
Niagara Wheatfield Tribune, June 14, 2007

Despite backing from two dozen supporters, owners of the White Linen Tea House saw their rezoning request for their business fail before the Wheatfield Town Board Monday.

The board voted 2-2 with one abstention on a rezoning request for the Tea House, one vote short of the majority needed for the request to pass.

The vote followed a public hearing. Councilman Gil Doucet and Wheatfield Town Supervisor Timothy Demler voted in favor of the rezoning, with a 90-day window of time to complete work to bring the business up to code.

Councilmen Kenneth Retzlaff and Arthur Palmer voted no. Councilman Larry Helwig abstained. His mother is a vendor in the adjacent Shawnee Country Barn.

The hearing, which preceded the regular monthly meeting, included several testy exchanges between opponents. About 20 supporters of the Tea House applauded several times during the meeting. Opponents depicted the Tea House’s proprietor, Linda Kloch, as a zoning code scofflaw. Kloch left town hall in tears after the vote.

The board called the hearing so that the concerns of the owners of the house and neighboring residents could be discussed, said Demler.

“We wanted to discuss what the options could be and would be and if the owners should in fact invest a lot of money into upgrading the house and restaurant into a code-classified acceptable business, and if so, then the Town Board would have to review the request to rezone that portion,” Demler said. He also noted that the Shawnee Country Barn Antique Co-op on the property has a special use permit that allows it to exist. The rezoning would “augment the current special use zoning on the barn,” Demler said.

Town Attorney Robert O’Toole said only the parcel on which the Tea House sits would be impacted by the rezoning. He said there had been past discussion with the Comprehensive Master Plan Task Force about an “area-wide rezoning along Shawnee Road.”

Tim Arlington of Apex Consulting represented Kloch. Arlington said three years ago, Kloch and her husband, Frank, decided to change their home into the Tea House, a complementary business to the Country Barn.

“Over the last few years,” Arlington said, “the business has grown and is quite successful.”

Following through on a preliminary site plan would bring both the Country Barn and the Tea House into compliance with town ordinances, Arlington said. In 1995, a special use permit was granted to the antique business, he said, but the permit did not include provisions for a restaurant.

“There is no provision in the town ordinance that allows this type of use without the property being rezoned,” Arlington said, “and that’s the primary reason we’re here tonight.”

Kloch said the Tea House is “not really a restaurant,” but it does not fit in another classification. The business would be open less than 40 hours a week, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. five days a week.

Carrie Kudla, Kloch’s daughter, described the Tea House as a “destination.”

“It’s just a wonderful, unique business,” she said, and the family was willing to make accommodations to make the Tea House work.

“And I love Wheatfield,” Kloch added. “I don’t want (the Tea House) anywhere else.”

Wheatfield Building Inspector Jennifer Caldwell said the establishment never had the benefit of building permit or certificate of occupancy.

“There’re a lot of violations,” Caldwell said, “and I’ve been struggling with this for a long time.”

“I know you’re not unfamiliar with zoning because you went to the Zoning Board for your antique barn,” Caldwell told Kloch. “I know you’re not unfamiliar with zoning codes and site plans. And you have admitted to me that you have done this at your own peril.”

Caldwell had a diagram showing some of the dozen zoning problems, including the lack of a retention pond or paved parking

“I need more than promises that you’re going to get this done,” Caldwell said. “And we’re certainly willing to work with you.”

Caldwell noted later that the town has liabilities in the matter.

O’Toole said even if the town board voted yes, a number of conditions must be met before they can open because “some of the issues are health and safety issues,” such as handicapped accessibility.

Richard Hewett and his wife, Carol, who live on the property to the north, described rats, parking and garbage problems related to the Tea House. He said he and his wife have had trespassing on the property and had to erect a fence at their own cost.

These complaints were disputed by local resident Paul Miller, who said the business is bringing people to the Country Barn.

“This place is booming,” Miller said.

Tracy Bauch, a Wheatfield resident and manager of the Tea House, said Kloch never intended to hurt anyone in pursuing the business.

“She is wonderful person and a wonderful asset to the town of Wheatfield,” Bauch said.

Demler said the board is open-minded and supports business, but that there was a “reliability factor” in the owner sticking to the site plan. He said every business in town should compete on an equal playing field.

Retzlaff said he like the Tea House, but that he could not condone Kloch’s inability to follow town code.

Likewise, Palmer said he couldn’t look past the “spot rezoning.”

“They didn’t conform to the building codes from 1995 to the current date,” Palmer said. “They had ample opportunity, and they made promise after promise.”

“We’re not against the Tea House, but if you throw that out and allow that rezoning to go through, then what do you need a building department for? We don’t need code enforcement.”

Other businesses had to follow the rules, he said, and so should the Tea House.