FITZWILLIAM — Selectmen will not appeal a court order banning the
town from regulating a plan to reopen a quarry that’s a stone’s throw
from people’s homes.
And they aren’t saying how or why they reached their decision Monday night.
Alyssa Dandrea can be reached at 352-1234,And they aren’t saying how or why they reached their decision Monday night.
“Ultimately the board
thought it was in the best interest of the town not to appeal to the
(N.H.) Supreme Court,” town attorney Steven Whitley said Tuesday. “As
far as how it got to that decision, I unfortunately can’t divulge the
underlying legal strategy.”
Cheshire County Superior
Court Judge John C. Kissinger Jr. ruled last month that Aaron E. Olson
of Rindge doesn’t need town officials’ approval to mine the Webb Hill
Quarry his company owns. Rather, only state land use officials need give
KMO Associates LLC the OK to mine granite from the 121-acre property,
according to Kissinger.
The long-dormant quarry
is nestled in the heart of Fitzwilliam’s residential district, between
Webb Hill Road and East Lake Road. It is about a half-mile from Laurel
Lake, which residents fear could be among the natural resources at risk
should KMO be allowed to mine. Residents say mining will threaten
Fitzwilliam’s water quality, and bring noise, dust and heavy truck
traffic.
KMO filed a civil lawsuit
against Fitzwilliam in May 2013, claiming the company doesn’t need to
file a mining application with the town because New Hampshire mining
laws supersede Fitzwilliam’s zoning ordinances.
Town officials disagreed.
They said KMO prematurely sought the court’s assistance in its efforts
to remove granite from Webb Hill Quarry.
KMO never filed a site
plan application with the town, so Fitzwilliam officials could not make a
decision in the matter, and, therefore, never acted unlawfully to
prevent KMO from using its property, town officials maintained in court
documents.
Kissinger sided with KMO. The town, though, is not prohibited from taking part in the state regulatory process, he ruled.
The March order is a win
for Olson and KMO, whose efforts to change Fitzwilliam’s zoning
ordinances overwhelmingly failed at town meeting in March 2013.
KMO’s petition warrant
article sought to make quarry reclamation — which it defined as taking
already-cut stone — a new and permitted use in the town’s residential
district, but it failed in a 455-129 vote.
Voters spoke loud and
clear when they defeated the warrant article, abutter Wesley C. Whitham
said Tuesday. But now, the selectmen are going against the wishes of the
townspeople by not appealing Kissinger’s ruling, he said.
“I think the decisions of our selectmen are really in question. We want the selectmen to fight for our zoning.”
Whitham was among the
residents who circulated a petition over the weekend, calling upon
selectmen to appeal Kissinger’s order. The petition was created by the
Concerned Citizens of Fitzwilliam, a group of residents that formed last
year in response to KMO’s interest in reopening the quarry.
About 42 people signed the petition at his request, but additional copies are still out there, Whitham said.
The petition reads: “In
order to protect the health and welfare of the people of Fitzwilliam and
the integrity of our community, we the undersigned request that the
Board of Selectmen appeal the recent court decision regarding the
reopening of the Webb Quarry.”
Whitham presented the
petition to selectmen at their meeting Monday. The meeting provided a
second chance for residents to speak to Kissinger’s order; the first
meeting was held April 14.
Members of the town’s
planning board also requested a joint session with selectmen Monday to
seek clarification on various aspects of Kissinger’s order, including
his interpretation of the state mining law, Vice Chairman Macreay J.
Landy said. Landy said Kissinger’s decision could nullify town zoning
laws about mining and excavation on the books.
“The planning board
wanted (selectmen) to appeal,” Landy said. “The ruling ties the hands of
Fitzwilliam in terms of enforcing any of our local regulations that
might pertain to quarrying.”
Landy said he’s
disappointed in the outcome of the case, but it’s hard to understand
what went wrong and where the town goes from here.
“I think we’re afraid it opens Pandora’s box,” he said.
However, selectmen
believe the lawsuit has reached its conclusion and will not appeal to
the state’s highest court, Whitley said.
“The town was
disappointed by the decision. The town felt that it had made very sound
arguments, but the court was not persuaded,” he said. “The town is not
happy about the court’s decision, but we’ll abide by it and honor it.”
The selectmen’s decision to stop the fight has angered some residents and left them with unanswered questions.
Resident Coni Porter said she’s bewildered that the selectmen aren’t fighting the lower court’s ruling.
“I’m appalled and very
disturbed that the selectmen are going to let this pass without
appealing, or at least asking for clarification. It seems that the
town’s lawyers are just laying down,” Porter said. “I can’t help but
think, ‘Do the selectmen know something we don’t know?’ ”
Porter is a graphic
designer and artist who owns and operates a home business. She said
she’s concerned about what the future may hold for her property and that
of others near the quarry if it’s mined.
Selectmen declined to comment about their decision Tuesday, referring all questions to the town’s attorney.
What happens now depends in large part on how KMO decides to proceed and what it envisions for its property, Whitley said.
KMO’s attorney, Thomas R.
Hanna of Keene, said in an interview last week that KMO will apply for a
state mining permit to reopen Webb Hill Quarry.
extension 1435, or adandrea@keenesentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter
@ADandreaKS.
3 comments:
Does anyone know the location of this quarry? Is it on 119?
It's off to the right of 119 just before you bet to the depot. Not exactly "on the green"
True - its not on the green. However, it is on a road that doesn't receive a lot of maintenance and is extremely windy. Sounds like a dangerous location for heavy truck traffic. We will see a crappy road get worse.
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