CHARLEMONT — The Selectboard has approved renewing Stagecoach Auto Repair’s Class II license under the condition that the business complies with orders from the Conservation Commission and other boards that have expressed concerns about health, safety, environmental and permit violations this year.

The Selectboard also plans to align the license with the other licenses in town by 2025 by adding a defined number of vehicles allowed on the property, located on Route 8A.

Starting in February, concerns were raised about the hundreds of unregistered vehicles being stored at the 80-acre site. The Board of Health, Planning Board and Conservation Commission all wrote letters to the Selectboard about health, safety, environmental and permit violations.

Since the concerns began, many of the vehicles have been removed, but according to owner Brian Dupree, about 100 remain.

Dupree has run a business for 35 years repairing and towing vehicles, and submitted an application for a Class III permit 10 years ago that would allow for unregistered vehicles on the lot. He was informed two years ago that the permit was not approved and he refused to apply again, since he had already paid the fees for the permit when it was rejected. Dupree took over the Class II permit for the automotive repair and towing business from his father when he died about 30 years ago.

According to Dupree, the Class II license states that as long as he has a natural covering shielding the property from the road, there is no limit on the number of unregistered vehicles he can store there.

There are two Class II licenses in Charlemont, according to Town Administrator Sarah Reynolds. The other has a limit of eight vehicles at any time. There are also two Class III licenses, known as “junk dealers,” which have a limit of 25 vehicles.

Last week, the Conservation Commission held a meeting to draft an enforcement order for the property. The last time the commission wrote an enforcement order for Stagecoach Auto Repair was in 2018. At the meeting on Dec. 14, members tabled the writing of the order with plans to finish writing it in February when they have more information about the violations.

“We have a bunch of homework to do,” said Conservation Commission member Thorne Palmer, referring to the work needed before the enforcement order can be written.

The commission expressed concern about the approximately 40 vehicles on the property that sit within 200 feet of Mill Brook, a river that touches the site.

Palmer said once the enforcement order is in place, the Conservation Commission will plan to check on the property every three months to make sure it is maintained. This was not done in 2018.

“It is important to make a statement in the public record about the reason why the Wetlands Protection Act is important,” said Conservation Commission member Barbara Beall. “I get my water from a well. ... All we have are wells and springs. In Charlemont, we are pretty much blessed with a good water supply. We can’t do something that pollutes it.”

In October of this year, the Selectboard wrote a letter to Dupree warning that the Class II license may not be renewed, given the violations.

“While you do have a special permit to repair cars and a Class II license to sell used cars, neither of these allow for the number of inoperable vehicles,” the Selectboard wrote in a letter addressed to Dupree on Oct. 23. “The Selectboard is in the process of addressing the guidelines for the Class II license and will not be re-issuing licenses to those businesses who are in violation of zoning bylaws and special permit conditions.”

Furthermore, on June 5, Dupree was issued a notice of violation from the Building Department about unregistered vehicles he was storing on a different property.

Dupree claims he has stopped doing police and AAA towing, thus limiting the number of vehicles he takes in. He said he is trying to work on the issue of abandoned vehicles in his lot as well. He has one employee who helps with car removals sporadically. Dupree said he attempted to get a co-op worker from Franklin County Technical School to help with the removal work as well, but he was unsuccessful.

“They have been gathering for 40 years,” Dupree said in an interview referring to the vehicles on his property. “It is time to get them out of here.”

Reach Bella Levavi
at 413-930-4579 or
blevavi@recorder.com.

An earlier version of this article gave an incorrect name for the town administrator.