CLAREMONT — A Claremont company’s plans to build a construction and demolition transfer station at its Industrial Boulevard location have been withdrawn, at least for now.
In a brief email sent to City Planner Scott Osgood on Monday afternoon, American Recycling attorney Biron Bedard, who works for a firm in Concord, said the site plan application to the Planning Board was being withdrawn, but no further information was provided.
Messages left for American Recycling officials were not returned on Tuesday.
Osgood said because it was likely another extension was going to be requested at Monday night’s meeting, the company was urged to withdraw.
“What it boils down to is they were nowhere near ready,” Osgood said. “The application has been discussed for quite a while. I told them we did not want to continue indefinitely and they agreed.”
Plans to build a construction and demolition transfer station next to a rail siding were first presented to the Planning Board in April when company officials informally discussed the project. Since then, there have been two additional meetings, but a completed site plan has never been submitted.
The company had sought “conditional approval” from the city before it spent the time and money to obtain state permits from the Department of Environmental Services. But the board did not act on that request, with one member saying a conditional approval would essentially back the board into a corner and almost require it to approve a site plan if all state permits were received.
American Recycling has proposed demolishing an existing building next to the rail siding and increasing the size of the cement pad where the C&D material would be dumped and sorted for recyclables, then loaded onto train cars. The company estimated it would process about 500 tons of material a day brought in by 30 to 50 trucks of different sizes. Once loaded onto rail cars, the debris would be sent to Ohio and a facility designated to accept C&D.
Public opposition has been vocal, with concerns raised about environmental and other dangers posed by the operation because of asbestos, lead and mercury that could be in the debris. Noise, dust and truck traffic has also been an issue. The company has said that for any commercial demolition project, removal of most if not all hazardous material must be certified before being brought to the transfer station, something residents have questioned.
While the opposition has come from across the city, most of it is from homeowners in the Maple Avenue Elementary School area.
Public activist group A Better Claremont was formed in opposition to the plans. James Contois said Tuesday the group will remain vigilant should American Recycling file another application.
“ABC will continue to oppose any plan of Acuity Management (owner of American Recycling) to put a C&D facility in Claremont,” Contois said by phone. “Our group is committed to stopping this.” The group is also developing long-range goals for the entire city.
“We are not just about fighting this. We want to work toward positive projects in Claremont,” said ABC member Jan Lambert, who with her husband, John, owns multiple businesses around Claremont Junction across from Industrial Boulevard.
Another factor in the approval process is that a transfer station is not a permitted use in the industrial zoned sector. A variance was needed when the recycling operation began decades ago and a variance will be required from the Zoning Board of Adjustment for the transfer station, Osgood said.
Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.
