Belmont Planning Board approves Earth Excavation Regulations

Finally, after months of meetings and redrafts, the Belmont Planning Board last night approved a comprehensive re-draft of the town’s Earth Excavation Regulations that were first adopted 35-years ago.

The Board’s action, following a public hearing that produced concerns about the rights of small property owners to mine sand and gravel when the amount of material removed annually does not exceed 10,000 cubic yards, makes the new requirements effective immediately.

Mark Mooney, the developer of Briarcrest and the owner of significant sand and gravel deposits in the town, raised the objections to the provisions governing the so-called “minor” projects. He was particularly concerned about the proposed maximum depth of such an excavation of 20-feet, the 10,000 cubic yard limitation, and the requirement that any excavation be located more than 100 feet from a property line. He was also concerned that the ‘minor’ excavation project, once given a certificate of compliance, would not be eligible for a subsequent project review and permit for a period of five years.

Mooney also objected to the amount of the filing and application fees, claiming they exceed the maximums allowed by state law.

Planning Board members agonized at length over how to make the regulations more user-friendly to small property owners, typically farmers, who excavate materials to be used on their property or sold in small quantities.

Candace Daigle, the towns Director of Planning, explained that the ‘minor’ project permit provisions were designed to give the smaller property owners the ability to undertake smaller scale excavations without having to comply with the more stringent permitting and operational requirements imposed on the larger owners. “If a smaller owner wants to do more than a ‘minor’ project approval would allow, it will be possible to file an application meeting the more stringent requirements. The board will have the authority to review and, if there is compliance, approved such applications.”

Daigle also commented that the fee schedule proposed in the new regulation results in applicants paying less than they would if the existing fee schedule were to be carried forward into the new ordinance. Under the old regulation, the filing fee was $500 plus $200 per acre. The new regulation calls for a fee of $200 for zero to two-acres, $500 for three to 25-acres, $1,000 for 26 to 50-acres, and $2,000 for 51-acres or more.

“We came up with a fee schedule that was gauged to the amount of work required of the staff and other town departments during the approval and compliance processes,” Daigle said.

Brian Donovan, corporate environmental, health, and safety manager for Pike Industries, was present at the board’s public hearing. Pike is a large owner of excavating operations throughout New Hampshire and New England. Its headquarters are located on Rt. 106 in Belmont.

In response to a question about the extent to which the ‘minor’ projects would be subject to the alteration of terrain permits required by the NH Division of Environment Services, Donovan responded that even these small projects are now subject to DES regulation if, over their life, the meet or exceed the requirements of that agency.

Pike was one of the companies whose personnel participated in the several rounds of discussion that led to the final draft of Earth Excavation Regulations. Others included Bill Nutter of Nutter Enterprises, Howard Warren and Karin Feltham of Blue Sky Enterprises and John and Shawn O’Connor of O’Conner Excavating.

Board Chair Peter Harris and Daigle commented several times during the public hearing and the discussion leading up to the vote on the proposed regulations that the contributions of those affected by the regulation were of tremendous value during the entire process.

The board voted unanimously to approve Board Member Christine Long’s motion to adopt the regulations.

Asked about his assessment of the board’s just-approved regulation, Donovan remarked that ‘it creates a much better balance between the interests of the community and the property owner.”

Daigle indicated there are two or three property owners waiting “in the wings” to file applications for excavation permits under the new rules.

In other action, board members agreed to study proposed amendments to Belmont’s subdivision regulations and construction and security manual. Following board discussion of the two proposals at its next meeting on July 27, Daigle hopes to post the proposal(s) for a public hearing.

The board also questioned the value of meeting with the owners of Belmont Hardware for the purpose to discussing the extent to which that Main Street business’ storage rack on the parking lot in front of its store violates setback requirements.

The board agreed there was little they could do as a board to grant the business relief from the regulations, suggesting that the Zoning Board was the proper body to discuss such relief. They finally agreed that the planning director should meet again with the Belmont Hardware owners to discuss their possible options. The board wanted Daigle to be sure to explain the extent to which it could not be as helpful as the owners might like. In the end, however, they agreed to meet with the owners at the beginning of their next regular meeting if the hardware store owners insisted.