After months of hearings and deliberation, the Westbrook Zoning Board of Appeals is scheduled to make a ruling Wednesday on whether to uphold or overturn the code enforcement officer’s decision regarding Pike Industries’ right to operate and expand on its Spring Street quarry.
At its last meeting on the issue June 10, the board indicated it would likely overturn Code Enforcement Officer Rick Gouzie’s decision.
Gouzie ruled in January that Pike had the right to continue quarrying at its Spring Street site but could not add rock-crushing, asphalt and concrete plants. Both Pike and Westbrook Works, a group of local businesses and residents opposed to Pike’s expansion, appealed Gouzie’s decision.
Pike first proposed to expand its Spring Street operations last yeat, so it could close its asphalt plant on Main Street, where rock resources were running low. The company quickly met opposition from Idexx Laboratories, a neighboring business that said bringing more heavy industry into the area would interfere with its own expansion plans.
Other businesses joined with Idexx to form Westbrook Works, which has also attracted area residents concerned with the potential noise, traffic and reverberations from blasting that could come with Pike’s expansion.
In addition to opposing the expansion, Westbrook Works claimed that Pike has never had the proper permitting to operate on Spring Street – that’s where Gouzie came in.
Last month, zoning board members said they saw no evidence during hearings that Pike had established a legal right to quarry, and asked their lawyer to come back to the next meeting with findings of fact in order for the board to take a proper vote on the issue.
Though the board’s decision is a significant step in the dispute regarding Pike’s rights, both sides have said they fully expect the matter to be settled in court and don’t expect any conclusions to come soon.
The zoning board is scheduled to vote at a meeting on Wednesday, July 22, at 7 p.m. in Room 114 at Westbrook High School.
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