NORTHFIELD — Lane Construction Corp. intends to expand its gravel operations to a 30-acre lot to the northwest of its current property on Mount Hermon Station Road, pending approval by the Zoning Board of Appeals.
The property is currently owned by William G. and Joyce A. Roberts, and would offer about 20 acres of mineable land.
“We’re looking to expand the existing sand and gravel pit,” explained Lane’s Director of Environmental Services Meagan Sylvia. “We’re about finished up with the 40 acres that we currently have permitted.”
Lane is able to mine no more than five acres at a time, and can easily get through the rest of the year with their current property, Sylvia said. The company’s goal through the proposed purchase is to secure land for the future.
“We want to utilize what we have nearby,” said Fred Aldrich, superintendent of Lane’s Northfield and Walpole, N.H., divisions. “The property itself is very valuable and it would help keep us in business here.”
The Zoning Board of Appeals will hear from Sylvia during a July 14 meeting and conduct an in-person review of the land on July 16. The board will come to a final decision on July 21.
Sylvia said that Lane’s purchase of the land is contingent on the company receiving the permit. Lane has hired surveyors to ensure the proposed mining areas meet code, and to divide the property into five-acre lots.
Should the permit be granted and the sale be finalized, Lane employees would remove a foot of top soil and excavate as deep as 15 feet for the sand and gravel, while staying above the water table.
“We would just be mining basically what’s on the surface,” Sylvia said. “There’s no blasting or anything like that.”
Currently, there is a buffer zone between Lane’s property and the Roberts’ property, which is represented by a row of trees.
“We’d have to cut some of the trees between the two properties to get into the land,” Aldrich said.
The tree line and wetlands make up the remaining third of the property that Lane doesn’t intend to mine.
“We’re staying outside of any environmentally sensitive areas,” Sylvia said.
During a June 16 Zoning Board of Appeals hearing, when Lane renewed its three-year permit to mine on its current property, Lane abutters expressed concerns about noise should the company be allowed to expand.
“Sand and gravel operations aren’t very noisy. It’s nothing that’s done at night,” Sylvia said, adding that the company operates between 6:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.
Furthermore, Sylvia explained that Lane won’t be increasing production, but simply moving the mining to a different location.
“For us, it’s more of the same,” she said.
Aldrich estimated that it would take 10 years to remove all the materials from the Roberts property. If the permit is denied, Aldrich said the it wouldn’t hurt Lane, but that the company would have to search out other locations.