Date: 17/10/2002 (Lowell Sun)
Westford targeting court fight on quarry (Ma USA) WESTFORD The town is expected to file for an injunction today against a sand-and-gravel company that has continued working at a local quarry in violation of an Oct. 7 cease-and-desist order. Town Counsel John Gannon will seek the injunction against Tresca Brothers Sand & Gravel, asking Middlesex Superior Court to enforce fines of $300 for every day the company operates on the site, and that the town be paid back for legal fees incurred. The stop-work order was sent by Building Inspector Don Kinney after Tresca Brothers allegedly expanded its operation beyond what had been permitted at the quarry under a grandfathered use. The quarry, at 49 North Main St., sits in a residentially zoned area, but has been used since before local zoning bylaws were enacted in 1955. By increasing its operation beyond the permitted use, Tresca has lost its right to the grandfathering and current zoning applies, according to Town Manager Steve Ledoux. In effect, he said, the company can no longer work there. Tresca Brothers has seven business days to respond to the injunction request, Ledoux said. The Millis-based company has drawn repeated complaints from neighbors about blasting at the quarry, which it leases. Over the summer, neighbors complained at Planning Board and selectmen's meetings that the blasting was excessively loud and frequent, and was damaging foundations, walls and wells. In April, a town engineer who was touring town-owned land adjacent to the quarry observed damage that he blamed on the blasting. The town is in litigation over the damage. Tresca Brothers have not returned repeated calls from The Sun asking for comment. Last Thursday, several days after the cease and desist order had been served, a reporter observed that equipment was still operating at the site. A woman who came out of a construction trailer on the property said Tresca Brothers planned an appeal. She declined to comment further.