Dalton Trucking Business Requests Changes to Special Permit
DALTON, Mass. — The Planning Board discussed several controversial topics at its meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 19, including a request for a new special permit from Ray Robert Excavation & Trucking.
Nearly 100 people attended the meeting, both in person and on Zoom, with some expressing frustration over noise allegedly coming from the excavation and trucking company.
The agenda item lasted nearly an hour and a half without a resolution. The board closed public comment and continued the public hearing to next month's meeting.
The main point of contention was noise from rock crushing, screening, and other equipment, particularly during evenings, weekends, and holidays.
The business' hours of operation are currently permitted as 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday.
The board approved these hours last December after a public hearing that spanned multiple meetings. More information here.
Roberts said that because of the restriction put in place by the board his "business has experienced detrimental and financial impacts," Roberts wrote the Board.
"They also limit consumers and contractors' ability to accomplish their tasks and contracts in a timely and efficient manner as well," he added.
Services include rock crushing, earth screening, truck loading and unloading, and the crushing of asphalt, brick, and concrete.
"What we've tried to do is we've tried to give him some relief so that he can be successful in his business, but at the same time being very mindful of the neighbors on Elaine [Ave.] and those roads that come down on the cul-de-sac," said William Martin, Roberts’ attorney.
The hours of operation for crushing asphalt, brick, and concrete are subject to the requirements of the State Department of Environmental Protection, which is 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and not permitted on Saturday or Sunday.
Roberts and Martin requested that the hours of operation, not including asphalt, brick, and concrete, be set as follows in the 2025 special permit:
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Rock crushing from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, and no rock crushing on Saturday.
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Earth screening from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, and no screening on Sunday.
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Truck loading and unloading from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and as needed on an emergency basis.
Roberts and Martin emphasized that if a concrete truck arrives after hours with live concrete, it's crucial to have a plan in place. Since wet concrete is not considered ABC, to prevent waste, it needs to be poured into a formwork to create a block.
This task can not wait till the next morning because once the material dries, it becomes asphalt, brick, and concrete (ABC), Roberts said.
The business is in an industrial zone but abuts a residential zone. To reduce noise and dust, Roberts rearranged his operations, moving rock-crushing and ABC processing to Lot 8, which is closer to the railroad tracks and Hubbard Avenue and farther from the residential area.
General permit conditions, such as topsoil storage, screening, and processing, along with limited storage of processed asphalt and concrete, will occur on Lot 9, which is closer to the residential zone.
In a follow-up, Roberts described these activities as "much quieter and less intrusive than the crushing."
There is also a 50-foot buffer zone, which occupies 2 acres of the 15-acre property. This buffer zone features earthen berms, a 15-foot tall wall, and trees to reduce sound and dust.
An Elaine Ave. resident Jason Squires said the buffer seemed to be working.
"Since he's built that ball and the trees, the noise has really been minimal, honestly. I'm not retired or nothing like that. I work all day. My wife works, but it hasn't been an issue. We have a pool outside,” he said. “There's never dust in it…I think he's a blue-collar, hard-working guy who just wants to get by, and I appreciate it."
But several attendants expressed their concern about extending the hours of operations.
"I've had the unique opportunity of living in that neighborhood since 1991. I was 10 years old. I'm not arguing the current noise during the day. I think the big argument is we're extending what the potential noise is hours beyond what it is," resident Brandon Noyes said. "We keep harping on [how it’s an industrial area] We know it's industrial. It's been industrial since I was a kid. Granted, it's gotten a little bit louder since, but it's during working hours that's absolutely normal…Yes, we make concessions for the dust. It is what it is. It's an industrial area. We want the guy to make money."
However, Noyes said he does not want to hear "topsoil sifting and blocks banging and things going on" at night when his son is trying to sleep or later.
Cathy and Greg Schnopp emphasized that the noise allegedly coming from Roberts' property has made it challenging for them to host gatherings. They recounted a specific incident where they held a gathering on a holiday, which was disrupted by noise that continued until 6 p.m. that day because the holiday fell on a Monday.
On Feb. 12, the traffic commission also reviewed Roberts’ special permit and voted to suggest the hours of operation be set from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday and that no work be done on national holidays or Sundays.
"This recommendation is being made out of concern for rush hour traffic in a predominately industrial area of town," a letter said from the Traffic Commission.
Martin said this request was "totally off the wall," and that demonstrated how "there's some family relationship" with a member of the commission.
According to the letter, commission chair William Drosehn abstained from the vote due to "an ethical conflict."
The Schnopp family said they did not have a problem with the business but they wanted Roberts to adhere to the special permit that was agreed upon in 2020.
The 2020 special permit stipulated that all operations, including earthen materials processing activities such as screening, separating, and rock crushing, must be conducted from Monday to Friday between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m., and on Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Additionally, it required that all screening, separating, and rock-crushing operations conclude by 1 p.m. on Saturdays.
One resident highlighted how the residents chose to move to an area that abuts an industrial area.
This prompted many attendees to raise their hands, indicating they had lived in their homes before the business's expansion.
Resident Barbara Collins said that when she purchased her property in the fall of 1986, she was informed that it was abutting an industrial district, but she was also told no one was going to build or do anything on it because there were wetlands involved.
Now, there is a "60 foot" wall, she said. In a follow-up, Roberts corrected this statement saying the wall is only 15 feet tall.
"I had my house power washed this past summer. They cannot get the stains from the flying dust off of it without using harsh chemicals, which is going to ruin the siding," Collins said.
"And I also have a swimming pool, and every time you get to go in the pool, you have to clean it first, because the air and the dirt is flying all over the place."
The history surrounding Ray Robert Excavation & Trucking is "long and complicated," Martin said.
"What I want to start with is really with the agreement for judgment that was entered in a few years ago. As you all know, there had been a series of special permits to go back a long, long time. And there was, and I think still is, a lot of belief that this property should be entitled to some benefits of prior non conforming use status," he said.
The company has been operating at 190 Avenue Dalton, going back to the 1970s when the property was owned by Roberts’ uncle.
Roberts said he worked on the property with his uncle from 1971 to 1997, at the time there was no permit required and the town’s bylaw stated that any use of a property in the industrial zone is permitted by right.
However, restrictions began to be implemented in 1997 and have gradually become more restrictive, he said.
"I started the business because I saw a market that nobody else had, because I was digging, and I could do my digging jobs, and I couldn't get gravel after five, six o'clock at night, and I wanted to finish that driveway so I could move my equipment to the next job the next day," Roberts said.
"I bought [190] Hubbard, and because I was told I could do what I want there. Immediately, for the first 15 to 20, years, I did that. I did those jobs late at night, and went back and got the last load of gravel at 6:30 or 7 o'clock at night, and brought it to my driveway job and finished it that day, and all of a sudden I can't do that anymore. And, that's why I want to be able to do those things."
An argument can be made that a special permit is not required but " for purposes of this hearing, I don't want to go there. And I'm not going there," Martin said.
"However, for purposes of this special permit application, and with the goal of moving forward, not moving back. I want to start at the starting point of the complaint litigation that was filed a few years ago," he said.
