The Greenville Planning Board accepted an application for a rehabilitation center in the Chamberlin Mill as complete during its meeting on Thursday night, with the first public hearing on the proposal scheduled for May.

The application, submitted to the town by Georges Realty, proposes to renovate the former 1800s mill building on 21 Chamberlin St. into a short-term rehabilitation center for drug and alcohol abuse. Residents would not be allowed to have vehicles, and facility parking would include up to 12 spaces directly around the mill and an agreement to use up to 20 spaces of a nearby church parking lot.

The board reviewed the application and found that all required elements had been submitted to begin the formal review process.

David Eckman of Eckman Engineering, who was presenting for Georges Realty, said the plans, which have been reviewed by the board during the initial phase and during a conceptual review prior to the formal application, will be amended slightly to take in feedback that has already been received.

The board agreed to schedule the public hearing for the case for May 11 at 7 p.m. at the Mascenic SAU offices on School Street to allow time for those changes, as well as to notify potential regional stakeholders. The project has been determined to have regional impact, as Greenville relies on mutual aid services for fire, police and ambulance, and because of the mill’s proximity to the Souhegan River.

In a separate case, the Planning Board also approved the change of use for Blake Equipment, an industrial business on Brown Drive.

The business, which has been operating as a well-drilling and contracting facility for several years, had never obtained the change-of-use permit required. Vice Chair Scott Tenney explained the hearing was to “put down on paper” the particulars of the business and review any issues.

The majority of the site was intended to continue operating as it has been, with the addition of the construction of a 20-foot by 12-foot concrete pad to be constructed outside of the existing building on the property.

After hearing several comments related to noise from the business, board members discussed requiring putting up sound barriers or fencing to help reduce the sound, and in its list of conditions, agreed to require fencing in the area where loading and unloading occur.

The board also set specific hours for the business operations, including limiting the operations outdoors to daylight hours, or no earlier than 7 a.m. or later than 9 p.m. weekdays, and 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays.

Although the company had initially requested working hours seven days a week, the board did not allow working hours on Sunday, with Chair Mike Sadowski saying that neighbors deserved at least a day of reprieve from noise.

Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.

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