A Connecticut couple who bought 50 acres of land in Roxbury in 2022 is fighting a zoning dispute after town officials told them they could not continue allowing hikers and dog owners to use their private forest trails for a fee.
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hikers → buy → fee
According to CT Mirror, Charles and Eli Copley had bought the property with plans to renovate an old cottage and manage the surrounding woodland.
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Copley → accord → woodland
The couple worked with a forester to develop a forest management plan.
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couple → work → plan
The work included removing rubbish, deteriorating hunting structures and invasive species from the property.
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work → include → property
They also built a trail system through the woods to improve access for managing the land and eventually created about 1.3 miles of trails.
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They → build → trails
The Copleys also wanted regular foot traffic to help control low-growing vegetation on the trails.
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traffic → want → trails
Therefore, in 2024, they listed the property on Sniffspot, an online platform that allows people to rent private properties by the hour for dog walking.
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people → list → walking
The Copleys charged $10 an hour and also allowed hikers to use the trails.
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hikers → charge → trails
The arrangement was meant to help maintain the trails and recover some of the costs of managing the forest.
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arrangement → mean → forest
The property received about two or three bookings a week while the listing was active.
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listing → receive → bookings
Officials raise zoning concerns
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Officials → raise → concerns
The arrangement continued for several months before the Copleys received a letter from the Roxbury Land Use Department in April 2025.
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Copleys → continue → April
The letter warned of a possible zoning violation and referred to the property as a “dog park”.
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letter → warn → park
It also included requirements for operating a “home enterprise” and advised the couple to stop renting out the property until the requirements were met.
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requirements → include → property
The Copleys initially tried to work with the town.
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Copleys → try → town
They applied for permission to rent out the trails and spent months discussing the issue with officials.
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They → apply → officials
According to the couple, they were eventually told that they would need to combine the two parcels making up their property into one lot.
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they → accord → lot
The couple said doing so would require expensive surveys and could affect their ability to build a second house on the property.
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doing → say → property
They did not agree to consolidate the parcels.
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They → agree → parcels
They also explored changes to the town's zoning rules but remained unable to find a way to reopen the trails.
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They → explore → trails
Copleys challenge town's interpretation
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Copleys → challenge → interpretation
The Institute for Justice, which is representing the Copleys, said the couple stopped taking reservations after receiving the town's notice and spent more than a year trying to resolve the issue.
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couple → represent → issue
In August, attorneys for the Copleys sent a letter to Roxbury officials demanding that the couple be allowed to rent parts of the property for recreation or be given an explanation of why the activity violates local zoning rules.
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activity → send → rules
“The town has been unable to explain how allowing people to walk outside on private property could possibly be problematic, and that’s because there is no reason,” said John Korevec, an attorney with the Institute for Justice.
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Korevec → explain → Justice
“The Copleys have done this before without incident, and to our knowledge, there’s been no complaints,” Korevec added.
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Korevec → do → knowledge
“Zoning codes are supposed to prevent genuine nuisances, not punish peaceful people who are doing nothing wrong.
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who → suppose → nothing
That’s zoning abuse,” he said.
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he → ’ → ?
Charles questiones why allowing people to walk on the forest had become such a difficult issue.
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people → question → forest
“I just kept thinking, like, how can this be so hard with something as innocuous as this?
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this → keep → this
Like, if I can’t do this, can anybody do anything?” he asked during a virtual press conference on August 27.
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he → do → August
The Institute for Justice argues that the couple's forest management plan included low-impact recreation and that the town's zoning rules allow agricultural and forestry uses as well as certain accessory uses.
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rules → argue → uses
It also points to similar uses on land managed by a local land trust.
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It → point → trust
The organisation further argues that the couple's activity is different from a conventional home-based business because people are using outdoor trails rather than operating inside the house.
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people → argue → house
Appeal keeps dispute open
Tim Hollister, a land use attorney at the Hartford firm Hinckley Allen, told CT Mirror that home enterprise rules are common in Connecticut zoning codes and are often used for businesses such as a small medical office operating from a home.
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rules → keep → home
However, he said he had not heard of such rules being applied to outdoor activities.
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rules → say → activities
“It doesn’t occur inside your house, so it’s not a home enterprise,” Hollister said.
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Hollister → occur → house
He also noted that other issues, including parking or portable restroom access, could potentially raise separate zoning questions.
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issues → note → questions
“It may be something else, but it’s not the general understanding of the term home enterprise,” he said.
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he → ’ → enterprise
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