With the owner hoping to get final approval and opponents convinced more questions need to be answered, a familiar scene is about to play out again as the Gorham Planning Board opens another pubic hearing Monday on a proposed asphalt plant and quarry.
Danny Shaw, co-owner of Shaw Brothers Construction Inc. of Gorham, which wants to build an asphalt plant and quarry on 125 acres on Mosher Road, said this week his company had submitted everything the town has requested.
“There’s nothing left to talk about,” said Shaw, when contacted Tuesday while he attended a contractor’s trade show in Las Vegas. “We’ve been through everything.”
But opponents don’t believe it’s over. Dave Homa, a member of the Concerned Citizens of Gorham, said Tuesday there are unanswered questions that include air and water quality, odor, safety, noise monitoring and increased truck traffic.
“We’ve looked at the code and still see issues to be addressed,” Homa said.
Homa said the group met Monday night. Members have organized a telephone and flier distribution campaign to spread the word about Monday’s hearing, which could be the final one on the project.
Shaw Brothers Construction seeks approval to install a portable asphalt plant, which would be replaced eventually with a $10 million permanent plant. The land is zoned industrial, and bricks had been manufactured at the site for decades.
The Gorham Planning Board’s latest public hearing starts Monday at 6 p.m., in the Gorham Council chambers, 75 South St. But the town said in a notice that the hearing might be continued to March 20, March 24, and March 31 or as determined by the Planning Board.
Opponents have contested the quarry and asphalt plant since the company introduced the project in August 2006. A driving rainstorm didn’t deter neighbors from viewing the site with town planners in October 2006.
However, supporters say that as long as the plant and quarry comply with local ordinances and meet state and federal air emissions standards, it should be allowed. In addition to the approval of the Gorham Planning Board, the plant will also need an air emissions license by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, which would monitor the project. Proponents also believe the plant will provide economic benefit to the town.
Hearings beginning in January 2007 have packed the council chambers at the municipal center.
The controversy surrounding the project last year drew two out-of-town environmental groups to Gorham for a door-to-door campaign. The asphalt plant also fueled a hot race by eight candidates for three seats on the Town Council in November.
A CLOSER LOOK
The Gorham Planning Board’s public hearing on Shaw Brothers Construction Inc. request to build an asphalt plant and quarry on 125 acres on Mosher Road, starts Monday at 6 p.m., in the Gorham Council chambers, 75 South St.
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