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Massachusetts

Town Vs. State

This topic contains 4 replies, has 1 voice, and was last updated by  David Crabill 10 years, 8 months ago.

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  • March 11, 2014 at 5:00 am #4690

    Megan

    Is it legal for a town to ban Cottage Food operations, even when they are allowed by the state?

    March 12, 2014 at 1:36 pm #4706

    David Crabill
    Keymaster

    This is possible, unless the state specifically has language in their law to prevent this from happening. A number of cottage food laws now have this kind of language to prevent this problem from happening.

    March 19, 2014 at 1:51 pm #4825

    Megan

    I live in Massachusetts…where do I look to see if the MA law has language preventing this? My town has a zoning bylaw prohibiting the sale of goods baked in a residential building. Frustrating!

    March 20, 2014 at 12:36 am #4833

    David Crabill
    Keymaster

    Oh… if it’s a zoning issue then you really can’t do anything about it, other than try to advocate for them to change their ordinances. What I was referring to was when a county will prevent any CFO from running a business. It sounds like you can still run your business, but the zoning laws are restricting sales from home. If it were me, I’d just cut my losses and sell elsewhere (you’re probably not going to change the govt anytime soon), and probably try to convert any home sales to delivery opportunities of some sort. The only other viable option I can think of is moving to a different county!

    March 20, 2014 at 12:46 am #4834

    David Crabill
    Keymaster

    Oh wait, sorry. I reread your question and I see that I misread it. I thought you said “prohibiting the sale of baked goods in a residential building”, but I see that it is “prohibiting the sale of goods baked in a residential building”, which changes a lot!

    So in this case, they are preventing any CFO from operating, and they are basically disregarding the law that is in place. Yes, they do have the right to do that, and no, there isn’t anything in MA’s law that prevents them from doing that. Your only real option (aside from moving) is to try to create an amendment with a congressman that adds wording to the law that would prevent them from prohibiting you from operating.

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