Robert Blechl Staff Writer
The Littleton Planning Board’s approval of an excavation permit for a gravel pit at the Bethlehem town line is back in court for a second time, after the board declined a motion for a rehearing and the abutters filed another appeal. . .
In June, a Hillsborough Superior Court judge reversed the board’s previous approval for a permit after concluding that planners did not follow the requirements under RSA 155-E when they approved the permit for Chris Crowe, the excavator and owner of the property along Alder Brook Road. . .
Arguing that questions about the plan and the bond are still unanswered are Mary and John Polaski, the nearest abutters, who live in Bethlehem.
On Friday, they filed a 28-page appeal, arguing that for a second time, “the board unlawfully approved Crowe’s application without the reclamation plan elements required by RSA 155-E:3, VI.”
Furthermore, Crowe’s plan is lacking elements that the town’s own expert, hired to evaluate an excavation proposal for the same site in 1991, said was necessary “to allow for an adequate assessment” of the project, Sheridan Brown, the attorney for the Polaskis, wrote in the appeal. . .
The Polaskis are asking the court to reverse the board’s Oct. 1 approval decision and award attorney’s fees on the argument that “the town’s actions are within the threshold of gross negligence or bad faith” and “the record in this case provides more than ample support for an award. . .
The Polaskis and other abutters have voiced concerns about noise, emissions, adverse environmental and wildlife impacts, and negative impacts to the area’s quality of life.
The issue went to its first public hearing in Littleton in November 2022, when several dozen local residents turned out in opposition.
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