The Hatfield Planning Board met with representatives from Zephyr Behavioral Healthcare on Sept. 4 to discuss next steps regarding the 74 N. Hatfield. Rd. parcel.
Photo credit: Hatfield Community TV
HATFIELD — The Hatfield Planning Board determined during its Sept. 4 meeting that Zephyr Behavioral Healthcare can move forward in their pursuit of the 74 N. Hatfield Rd parcel without having to go through the Planning Board process.
Representatives from Zephyr met with the board to talk about their business, what they plan on using the parcel of land for, and whether a site plan review, a special permit, or just registering with the town is necessary for Zephyr to inhabit the house that sits on the parcel.
“We wanted to jump in, and instead of assuming that it’s allowed [by right], we want to make sure we ask for permission first,” said Alex Marquez, a co-founder and executive director of Zephyr. “We have a lot of families’ and kids’ well-being in mind, so we want to make sure that we approach this properly.”
Zephyr, which currently resides at 62 Main St., Suite 2.3U, is a provider of play-based applied behavior analysis services to children with autism ages 2-6. According to Marquez, the program offers customized one-on-one support, which means that every child meets with a professional regularly.
The program runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Marquez said that children typically stay that entire time. They do not, however, offer overnight programs.
Because of what they offer for services, the representatives from Zephyr were unsure what their program falls under, whether the category of childcare or healthcare, which is why they decided to meet with the Planning Board.
“And also, because it involves the educational component of creating programs for their own development, we want to make sure that it doesn’t get misinterpreted as educational component because we’re not operated or regulated by the educational system in the state of Massachusetts,” Marquez said.
The Planning Board ultimately decided that the program falls under a specialized childcare center which means they did not need to go through an entire Planning Board process to obtain the parcel. They just have to register their business with the town.
Reminder Publishing reached out to representatives from Zephyr to get more details on what the future plans look like regarding the parcel but did not hear back as of press time.
According to Planning Board members, an overnight program run by the state for adults with disabilities used to reside in the 74 N. Hatfield Rd. location.
