A new proposal to build a storage unit complex at the base of a Peterborough sandpit stirred up longstanding concerns about the restoration of the former extraction site. The Planning Board approved the site plan with the condition that no certificates of occupancy be granted until restoration at the site is complete. The current landowner has agreed to restoring the remaining open parts of the quarry to contemporary state standards, scheduled for completion this year.
The proposed site for the five storage unit buildings is a 4.73-acre property that shares a driveway with an Eversource building at 425 Jaffrey Road, or Route 202 on the west side. The predominant feature of the site is a large sandpit that extends into the adjacent property, on which the town holds a conservation easement.
The quarry is now inactive and reclamation efforts are underway, Fieldstone Land Consultants’ Chad Branon told the Planning Board as he presented the storage unit proposal on behalf of Nevada-based Patriot Holdings LLC earlier in March. That drew a stir from listeners representing the adjacent Long Hill Estates condominium association and the Conservation Commission, including co-chair Francie Von Mertens, who said it was the first time they’d heard restoration was beginning after following the issue closely for decades. Despite the surprise, the Conservation Commission approves of the project’s current direction, Von Mertens said. The Conservation Commission’s concerns were primarily to make sure the project was carried out to the letter of the law, she said, in this case, restoring it in a way that prevented erosion from the steep slopes.
The land is currently owned by Han-Sul Inc., which has a Hancock address, according to tax parcel documents. The site had been operational prior to 1979, Von Mertens said, which meant that the pit operators were “grandfathered” when they first came before the Planning Board in 1985, so stricter town restoration standards would therefore not apply to the site. There was no operational timeline submitted at that point, she said, and the company filed a notice of intent to excavate every year since, which has deferred the restoration process regardless of whether any extraction was actually occurring.
Two sections of the quarry have “vigorous” red and white pines growing on closed out and restored slopes, and the landowner has agreed to restore the remaining steeper, bigger slope to contemporary state standards, Von Mertens said, after observing the site with other stakeholders at the end of March. Restoration involves spreading loam, mulching with hay, and seeding with a mix of grass and pine seeds and 500 pine seedlings, she said. A third party inspector will certify when the restoration is completed, Von Mertens said, and the current landowner agreed to supply a letter of credit, which would set aside money to redo the restoration in case the seedlings don’t take.
The Planning Board is scheduled to discuss the project on May 10, as the applicants have filed a conditional use permit requesting the Board waive certain required elements of the project, such as sidewalks and two points of entry and egress, Town Planner Danica Melone said.