To the editor: Chester zoning law still allows extraction too close for comfort
The Chester Telegraph | Jan 22, 2025 | Comments 1
We were glad to see the article in The Chester Telegraph reporting on Chester’s rezoning issues. (Chester board OKs rural zoning changes, Jan. 7, 2025) While much of the talk was centered on setbacks, extraction with a 100-foot setback remains in the newly named Rural-3, which is approximately 60% of Chester.
From speaking with friends and neighbors, we have found that few are aware that the town has the ability to issue a lifetime conditional-use permit to allow a quarry to locate 100 feet from your property line. This means there can be drilling, blasting, noise and trucking. This noise is disturbing, repetitive and ignored by town officials when reported.
To be clear, a Chester family could have spent their whole lives developing a home and property, only to have their quality of life ruined by a conditional-use permit the town is allowed to grant and has granted. If the conditional-use permit is not followed, the town of Chester has continuously stated that they are unable to enforce the violations of their own conditions in their own issued permit.
This issue was ignored and needed to be addressed and changed in the Chester Bylaws, as there was much discussion about extraction in the Planning Commission minutes.
Ultimately the only change in extraction policy was the removal of its conditional use from Residential 2. Interestingly enough, the town owns a gravel pit in Residential 2 and can extract gravel if needed due to previous use.
If the town is truly interested in attracting new homeowners to the town of Chester, we feel the Planning Commission, Development Review Board, the select board and the town manager need to establish updated, enforceable conditional-use restrictions for extraction and quarrying.
Who would move to Chester knowing that there could be a quarry 100 feet from your property line?
Thank you.
Scott Kilgus and Leslie Thorsen
Chester
Filed Under: Commentary • Letters to the Editor
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Editor's Note: Due to the recent repeated comments from some readers, including those using aliases, which is against our stated policy, we will be closing comments after an article has been up for eight days. We will allow one comment per reader per article. As always, first name or initial and last name required. COMMENTS WILL BE DELETED WITHOUT THEM. Again, no aliases accepted.
It is hurtful to see you write “ignored by town officials.” Many of us gave countless hours of our time doing our part in this process, in hearings, site visits, meetings, and studying on our own time.
Those of us who serve on the DRB worked very hard to find solutions. The process was painful and long, and we still are not able to talk about how WE feel, because we are a quasi-judicial board. If we share our feelings, we then need to recuse ourselves. Showing appreciation to the people who serve the town and do their best, rather than saying you were ignored, would be the right thing to do, despite your frustration.