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Gravel gripes heard before
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Cape Cod Times (
Author: KEVIN DENNEHY
BOURNEDALE - Speaking to Bourne's zoning board, he
predicted an "ominous crunch, crunch, crunch" of stray crushed stones
strewn through the
He warned that clouds of talcum-like dust, dug from
the earth by heavy equipment, would threaten "one of the most beautiful
parts of
This was not one of the neighbors now trying to shut
down the Cape Cod Aggregates sand and gravel operation, located near the
It was Paul Lorusso,
testifying against a planned expansion of the same sand pit in 1964, some 31
years before the company he established bought the property.
Lorusso, now 82, passed
his
But some see an ironic similarity between his
comments nearly 40 years ago and recent complaints about the sand and gravel business
that once more is the object of neighborhood complaints.
Next Wednesday, the zoning board of appeals may
decide whether to issue a cease and desist order on
the business after several complaints from neighbors that the grinding conveyor
belts and dust clouds are ruining their properties.
Cape Cod Aggregates is the company that owns the
gravel pit and bears the brunt of complaints this time. The company president
and treasurer is Samuel Lorusso, Paul Lorusso's nephew.
"The argument the (zoning board) heard 40 years
ago is the same testimony you hear today," said Gerald Blair, attorney for
Robert and Alice Bedugnis, who are pushing for the
business to be shut down.
"This operation is just as obnoxious, it's just
as much a detriment to the neighborhood and it's just as much in violation of
the zoning in that district as you can get."
The sand and gravel operation is located on a
126-acre parcel off the
The zoning board must determine whether the current
plant violates local zoning, or if it remains protected by
"grandfathered" zoning rights.
Company officials insist they're using the land just
as previous owners had for decades: mining sand and rock, and crushing large
stones.
Opponents, including some who have lived in the area
for decades, say the operation was much smaller in the late 1950s, when it was
owned by Simeone Stone Corp.
Last week, Margo Fenn,
executive director of the Cape Cod Commission, said the commission will look
closer at the operation to assess whether the expansion has been legal.
Company officials concede the operation has gotten
larger. And it's moving closer to homes because you can't mine the same area
twice.
While the business violates current zoning bylaws -
the area is zoned for "scenic development" and homes - they say it
has been used for mining since 1957 when there were no restrictions.
"This has become a very logical and gradual
expansion over the years," said Diane Tillotson,
attorney for Cape Cod Aggregates.
In the early 1960s, then-owner Simeone
tried to expand the operation beyond simple mining. They tried to add sand and
gravel processing, concrete batching and bituminous concrete plants.
Neighbors complained, and the state's
It was during that debate that Paul Lorusso, then the owner of a sand and gravel business in
Tillotson said recent
growth at the site doesn't resemble what Simeone
sought to do.
The elder Lorusso, she
said, is no longer a representative of Cape Cod Aggregates' leadership. Since
he was running his own plant at the time, one can only guess what his
intentions were.
"I don't think it's unrealistic to ascribe a
competitive motive to (those comments)," she said.
When the zoning board continues its hearing next
week, Tillotson is expected to submit an analysis of
the amount of gravel removed from the site in recent years.
Tillotson said there is no
difference in the type of work currently done on site compared with decades
past.
Yes, there is large rock crushing equipment on site
today. But decades ago, she said, prior owners used a similar piece of
equipment that dropped a heavy hammer on large rocks.
The company, she said, continues to make changes
they hope will move sound away from surrounding neighborhoods or limit the gusts
of dirt by soaking the dust.
"There's no question but that you'll have dust
generated from that plant today," she said. "Whenever you have to
strip vegetation, you're going to produce some dust."
The question, she said, should be how to make the
operation less bothersome to the neighbors, such as washing off truck tires
before they leave the premises. "There are ways," she said.
Blair, the attorney for Robert and Alice Bedugnis, said any expansion of use required a special
permit, which Cape Cod Aggregates never even sought.
Since the Bedugnises
pushed for a cease and desist order, several other
neighbors have echoed their concerns, including a recent petition to the zoning
board of appeals.
In it, about 15 families call the business a health
threat, a nuisance and detrimental to their property values.
Charles Salzberg, who
lives to the north of the property, said he became concerned when he started
noticing spikes in the woods across the street from his
He has hiked through the woods in recent months to
watch the mining operation expand closer to his home, and now worries that the
trees across the street will soon be cleared.
"As far as I'm concerned," he said,
"this land is being destroyed for all time."
Record Number: 0FCAF28AF9A6BE87
Copyright,
2003,