| Joanne Cole |
The Planning Board unanimously approved Duayne Maschino and Steven Maschino’s application for a gravel pit off Outlet Road, following a public hearing on Tuesday night.
The new 29-acre gravel pit, to be known as Chandler Pit, is on a 164-acre parcel in the Farm and Forest, Limited Residential Shoreland, Resource Protection, and Groundwater Protection Overlay Districts (Map 6 Lot 42-B).
The new pit would be reached using the access road that currently serves an existing pit owned by the Maschinos off Outlet Road, along Sabbathday Lake. The location of the pit and concerns about potential trucks and traffic on Outlet Road were the focus of residents’ comments during the brief public hearing.
Residents Cheryl and Mark Liese, abutters on Beaver Dam Road, brought their questions to the Meetinghouse. They had received a notice of the project and hearing and simply wanted to know where exactly the pit would be located. Would it use the same exit as the existing pit? Cheryl Liese asked. Yes, came the answer. As for the pit location, Josie Ray of Jones Associates, consulting engineers on the project, obliged by turning an easel and map so the Lieses could get a clearer view as she described the project.
By letter, Outlet Road resident Paulette Morin McNally expressed concern about safety, especially during the summer months when the Outlet Beach swimming area and Bresca and the Honeybee ice cream stand are open. “The speeding going by from large trucks (also full logging trucks) and cars have become a safety hazard not only to the year-round residents but especially increases during those summer months, which affects the beach patrons, bicyclists, walkers and cottage occupants crossing Outlet Road,” McNally wrote.
McNally wanted to be sure that existing restrictions on the time and direction of travel would be maintained with the new operation. Those restrictions include no right turns from the Maschino access road onto Outlet Road or returning past Outlet Beach or the cottages, she said. Later, during the board’s review it was specifically noted that the operation is to be held to the same conditions as currently apply to Maschinos’ existing pit.
For their part, board members had their own questions about the impact of the operation and its location. In response to a question from member Don Libby, Duayne Maschino and engineering consultant Evan Jones said the new pit is intended to provide continuity in the supply of material, not a doubling of excavation, hauling and trucks. The current pit is nearly out of material, Jones noted.
Member Ben Tettlebaum asked whether the operation is allowable even though the property is in the Resource Protection District. Planner Natalie Thomsen said that the proposed pit area is not within the Resource Protection zone—only a small part of the larger parcel is—and thus the operation is permissible under the ordinance.
The Maschinos had also supplied the two items left open at the previous meeting: the permit for the stream crossing that separates the two pits and a bond guaranteeing post-excavation site restoration.
With those items checked off and their questions addressed, the board proceeded expeditiously through the remaining review criteria, emerging at the other end with a unanimous 6-0 vote to approve the project (Steve Libby absent). Closing of binders and handshakes followed.
To watch the video of the April 18, 2023, Planning Board meeting and public hearing, click here. For meeting agendas and supporting materials, check the Planning Board page at this link.
