It took a vote of the Town Meeting, but the owners of the General Store, Adam and Lyn Horowitz of Woodchuck Hill Road, may finally be able to get the building permit they need to bring their structure up to code and open their business. Voters agreed that it was time to clear up decades-old irregularities in the lot lines that left slices of the store on town-owned land, including parts of the basement entrance, fire escape, front vestibule, and septic system. The lot lines had prevented the owners from taking clear title to the lot, thwarting their efforts to update the old structure and open the store. The vote grants the owners an easement for the existing septic system and gives them control over two slivers of land, an area of 1,232 square feet that is already occupied by the building. A 2007 land survey by David E. Ross Associates exposed the lot’s quirks.

A day before Town Meeting, owner Adam Horowitz provided the rationale for the warrant article, which was sponsored by the selectmen. “It’s a tidying up process, really,” he said. To bring the store into compliance with the building code, Horowitz explained, he must make the entrance handicapped-accessible, rebuild the steps, and improve the fire escape. “We can’t get a building permit to make the necessary improvements until the title is resolved,” he said. “I want to take responsibility for the fire escape and the entrance, including the liability.”

Retail space is slated for the second floor of the General Store, now undergoing renovations to expose old bead board. (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)

The Wednesday evening “yes” vote will speed the stalled renovation, and could set the stage for expanded offerings at the store, too. After updating the infrastructure, Horowitz hopes to eventually offer a few more amenities, contingent upon an improved septic system. He described the limitations imposed by the current system.

As it stands, he said, the store can’t provide even modest upgrades in service. Offering ice cream cones, adding a sink, putting a few seats in the place would all be impossible with the current system. “Those beautiful front windows are cleared of the [low] counters now. We would love to put just a few seats there, with a view to the Common, but right now we can’t.” He allowed that he knew the capacity was limited when he and Lyn Horowitz bought the property, but pointed to Harvard’s Master Plan, which calls for a vital town center and refers to a supporting plan for creating a town center sewer district.

Indeed, the 2002 Master Plan sets out goals and a “vision statement” informed, it says, by “public commentary.” The plan envisions the village center as “an asset for building a sense of community,” and says that Harvard “needs to create mixed-use village centers with services, amenities, and gathering places.” The Master Plan further recommends that the town develop a “public realm plan” for the town center. Selectman Tim Clark, long involved in town center planning, cited the realm plan, now known as the Town Center Action Plan, as an implementation guide for the Master Plan. It’s supposed to prevent the Master Plan from being a strictly theoretical document.

The action plan, produced in 2005 by environmental and planning consultants with town meeting-approved funds, delineates a downtown sewer district. It is posted on the town’s website, www.harvard.ma.us/towncenterplan.htm.

The future of “the General,” as it is known by many, may hinge on that action plan. Horowitz says his family’s vision of the General Store is shared by the numerous townspeople who have expressed support for the store’s revitalization. Still, his comments underscored the risk in the enterprise. “The future of the store is very dependent on implementation of the Master Plan,” he said.