MIDDLESEX TWP — Neighbor disputes aren't always public, but neighboring property owners have brought a problem they're having before township supervisors.

Clifford Lane residents Greg and Dottie Perry alleged during the public comment portion of the Oct. 21 supervisors meeting that Brian Wilson, the son of their neighbor, Sue Wilson, has been operating his business, Wilson Landscape Construction on Clifford Lane, in violation of zoning codes.

Clifford Lane is a private lane that falls in a rural residential (AG-A) zone, according to the township zoning map. Traditionally, property owners along private lanes have a shared agreement regarding road maintenance.

The Perrys say Brian Wilson tends to “roar up and down (Clifford Lane) with industrial equipment.” The result, according to the Perrys, is excessive noise and exhaust fumes.“In July, I filed a complaint,” Greg Perry said. “I haven't heard anything about it.”Adam Hartwig, township manager, on Tuesday clarified that recent complaints from the Perrys have been verbal.Sue Wilson, who was at the Oct. 21 meeting, confirmed her son owns Wilson Landscape.However, Wilson said any heavy equipment used along Clifford Lane is what Brian brings home from work to use on projects around the Wilson property.“The equipment that (Greg's) talking about is not run 100% of the time,” Sue Wilson said. “He is within the noise ordinance times for the township.”Hartwig verified Tuesday this was the case.“He's not in violation of the nuisance ordinance,” Hartwig said.

Brian Wilson told the Eagle Monday that he planned to attend the Oct. 21 supervisors meeting, but was late coming home from work.Responding to questions from the Eagle about Wilson Landscape, Brian Wilson said the business uses the Clifford Lane location as its mailing address.“No customers ... ever come to the house,” Brian Wilson said.Brian Wilson further explained the landscape equipment the Perrys hear is being run only when he goes to and returns from project sites.“I've never had a complaint,” Brian Wilson said. “From anyone.”Hartwig said Tuesday he did check with the Middlesex Township Police Department to see if Wilson Landscape was involved in any past nuisance incidents.Hartwig said police did not report any nuisance complaints or charges filed against the business.

Supervisor Chairman Mike Spreng asked Oct. 21 how long the Perrys have lived with the equipment on the Wilson property. The couple determined the business has been operating for about 10 years.Brian Wilson confirmed Monday this was true. He said Wilson Landscape, which primarily installs patios and walls, has used the Clifford Land address to handle projects in Butler County and the greater Pittsburgh region for about a decade.“It's not like I'm new to the township,” Brian Wilson said.Spreng asked Oct. 21 why the Perrys were addressing the issue now.“One thing is, we both finally retired,” Greg Perry said. “We're home.”The Perrys further said they've tried talking to the Wilsons about their concerns.The Wilsons said they haven't talked with them.“As far as I know, (Wilson Landscape) is not selling things,” Spreng said at the meeting. “I know he provides a service out of there.”A third neighbor on Clifford Lane at the Glade Mill Road intersection has a commercial wood business, according to Spreng. Spreng asked if that property also bothered the Perrys.“They don't make much noise,” Greg Perry said. “That wood chopper does, but I can't hear it.”

In October 2019, the township's zoning board encountered a similar noise complaint from neighbors of the landscape company Endless Summer Supply.Endless Summer at that time was processing mulch on-site, where it operated off Route 8 in a community-scale commercial (C-2) zone.A cease-and-desist order issued to the business was upheld after the zoning board determined Endless Summer fit better into a restricted industrial (I-1) zone. At that time, the township said manufacturing did not fit into C-2 zones.While township code allows a greenhouse or tree nursery to operate in an AG-A zone, commercial landscaping is not specified under the zone's permitted, conditional or special exception uses.On Oct. 21, supervisors asked township solicitor Michael Hnath what he thought of the Wilson Landscape situation.“It's been going on for so long, I don't know how we can get involved with it now,” Hnath said.Hnath said without proof that Wilson Landscape is conducting business on the AG-A property, the township can't prove a commercial operation is running.

Spreng said he doesn't think he has the authority to shut down the landscape company if customers aren't physically coming to the Clifford Lane property.The issue seems to be a “neighbor problem,” according to Spreng. “I don't know what brought this on,” he said.At the meeting, the Perrys also said they've complained to the township about a recurring sewer smell coming from the Wilson property.Hartwig said at the meeting that he investigated the matter with Middlesex Township Police Department Officer-in-Charge Randy Davison.The investigation didn't uncover any illegal sewer activity, according to Hartwig.