Stonington ― The owners of Maple Lawn Farm have applied for a zone change that would allow them to host events, classes, tastings and seminars.

A town road running through the property, though, could derail the plan.

“It would be the perfect place for it,” said Paul Cerullo on Monday, who owns the property with his wife Sharyne.

The request for the zone change from residential to an Agricultural Heritage District (AHD), would allow the Wheeler Road property to expand its current uses to include bed and breakfast functions as well as events, classes, and tastings, and other agricultural-related uses.

“People come, and they want to learn how to make Italian sausage; they want to learn how to make a good pasta sauce, and we started doing it for friends in the kitchen, and it just lends itself so well to small, intimate groups, and why not share the knowledge,” Cerullo said.

The Planning and Zoning Commission will now schedule a public hearing on the application. If the commission approves the zone change, Maple Lawn Farm would become the third farm in town to take advantage of the AHD.

The commission has previously approved the AHD designation for the 65-acre Stone Acres Farm on North Main Street and the 78-acre Deans Mill Farm/Dragonfly Equestrian Center on Pequot Trail.

Cerullo, 74, had a career as a chef and in the food industry before retiring and beginning the restoration of the farm. His wife is a professional artist and, Cerullo added, a talented pastry chef.

The AHD is intended to maintain the town’s cultural heritage and ensure the long-term viability of agricultural property in town. Regulations require that the property has been used for agricultural for at least 25 years and contain at least 35 contiguous acres to be eligible for the zoning designation.

Maple Lawn Farm has been in use as a farm for approximately 300 years, and is currently used for agriculture and to raise ducks and geese. The farm encompasses more than 35 acres, though a long ago relocation of Wheeler Road, essentially divided the property in half.

An email from former Town Planner Keith Brynes included in the application file noted that the 35-acre requirement is the greatest hurdle the Cerullos have to overcome, and noted that the property was contiguous until the town moved the road.

Public Works records show Wheeler Road was initially laid out in 1874, and officially became a town road in 1901, though the date of the relocation is unclear.

Cerullo said approximately 24 acres of the property are located on the side of the road proposed for the zoning change, and the property is surrounded on three sides by roughly 100 acres of open space according to documents associated with the zone change application.

Events would be held both inside and out, and outdoor events would be held under a tent that Cerullo said would be essentially obscured from the road by the home and barn on the property.

Parking would be on the property, and a private well and septic system, as well as portable restrooms brought in for events would place no additional burden on town water or sewer services, according to the application.

“The reason for doing it is strictly the economics,” Cerullo said. He explained that when his children inherit the property, they would like to keep it, but the costs associated with the more than $1.5 million property are extensive.

Cerullo said that between taxes, insurance and maintenance of the property alone are upwards of $100,000 per year, and expanding the uses would offer a way to maintain the historic property.

Isaac Wheeler, purchased the original 600-acre property in 1687, according to the writings of Grace Wheeler, a descendant of Wheeler, who published historical accounts of her life and the property in the 1940’s.

The Cerullos bought the property almost 24 years ago and spent ten years improving the farm before tackling the renovation of the 1735 home, which they have been doing for the last 13 years.