SA Farm Owner Ordered to Stop Project in Berlin

Santo Anza, the controversial owner of SA Farm in Northborough, has also been ordered by town officials in Berlin to stop activity at Maplewood Farm, reported the Telegram and Gazette. The activity, where "dozens of residents have complained about the caravan of noisy, dusty 18-wheelers that haul fill along very narrow roads in their neighborhoods each day," according to the Telegram, mirrors complaints in Northborough.

Owners of the Maplewood property, Archibald and Tamara Johnston, maintain that the fill is being brought in by Anza so that they may level off land and make improvements to the 20-acre horse farm at 24 Ball Hill Rd., said the Telegram. 

In Northborough, neighbors have fought activity at SA Farm on Whitney Street for more than a year, crowding any Board of Selectmen and Zoning Board meetings  that include Anza's name or business on the agenda. Residents, and now the town, accuse Anza of manipulating town bylaws to operate a compost business.

In Septemeber, Owned by Anza, who operates SA Farm at 429 Whitney St., the cease and desist order was originally issued by Building Inspector Bill Farnsworth on July 15.

Attorney General Martha Coakley's office, too, charged Anza with illegal dumping at SA Farm. As reported on NECN, "Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley served owner Santo Anza with this complaint, alleging that he has allowed others, including Haymarket Square in Boston, to dump solid waste on his 429 Whitney St. property."

For Patch's coverage on Anza and SA Farm, visit here.