Quarry, 4 Other Requests
On Randolph DRB Agenda
By Sandy Vondrasek

It could be another long night for Randolph’s Development Review Board next Tuesday night, when it takes up an agenda with two "continuation" hearings—for a rock quarry on Ridge Road and a proposed "planned unit development" on Sunset Hill Road—plus three new applications.

First on the agenda is the continuation hearing for Sprague Farms, LLC’s request to site a 17-acre ledge extraction quarry off the town’s scenic Ridge Road.

The project needs three levels of approval from the DRB—"use review" under section 2.4.3 of the bylaws, which is similar to conditional use review, site plan review, and local Act 250 review. The project would also need state permits, including one from Act 250.

Last month, the DRB heard more than two hours of testimony from a noise expert, a quarry operator, and other parties speaking on behalf of the application. A number of neighbors are organizing their opposition to the project, and have indicated they may bring a noise expert of their own.

Sunset Hill Change

Second on the agenda is Kevin Blakeman of Sharon, who is seeking a new permit, for a six-unit planned unit development (PUD) on his Sunset Hill Road property.

Blakeman, who in the fall received a permit to build a nine-unit apartment building on the site, is seeking this new use, in part, he said, to accommodate abuttors’ concerns.

He appeared before the DRB last month with his new proposal, but was told that the plan he brought was not, in fact, a PUD, but a sub-division.

According to Zoning Administrator Mardee Sanchez, Blakeman was advised of what he needed to do to create a multi-unit PUD on his 5.8-acre lot, which is in the RU5 (rural use, five-acre minimum) district.

There are two kinds of PUDs, according to Sanchez, and the plan submitted by Blakeman did not fit the requirements of either.

Blakeman said this week that he has also asked the Planning Commission to change the zoning in the district to residential. That request was tabled for 30 days, he said.

Commercial Projects

Also on the DRB agenda is conditional use and site plan review for two commercial projects—a real estate office and a retail store—and site plan and variance review for a specialty foods company.

Sherri McPhetres will present her plan to convert part of an existing single-family house at 6 Central Street into a real estate office. The property is in the apartment/residential district.

Royal Larocque will bring a proposal to convert the property at 544 Beanville Road—formerly Rule Signs—into a bottle redemption and retail sales store. The property is in the rural village zone.

Catherine Bacon will first need to get variance approval from the DRB before it can give site plan review for her proposal to operate a specialty foods business at 17 Weston Street, the former Brigham Gelatine Factory.

The DRB last summer granted a permit for the building to be divided into residential condominiums. The property is in the COM district.

Bacon has indicated she would do packing, shipping and distribution from the site.

The DRB’s Tuesday, Feb. 26 hearing, at 7 p.m., will be at the Langevin House Conference Center, at the end of Furnace Road in Randolph Center.

New DRB Member

Longtime DRB member Trini Brassard has recently resigned from the DRB. Randolph Center’s Sam Lincoln has been appointed to fill the vacancy.