Keene planning board continues hearing on G2 Holdings gravel-pit expansion after approving several waivers

The Keene Planning Board on Monday approved three local waivers for G2 Holdings LLC’s proposed expansion of an existing gravel operation on land accessed from Route 9 but postponed formal approval of the excavation permit and related hillside conditional-use permit until the board’s Sept. 29 meeting.

The board granted the developer and its engineers relief from three provisions of the Keene Land Development Code (LDC) that the applicant said would otherwise prohibit the proposed work: the required 250-foot surface-water setback, a clause barring excavation of bedrock that “contains toxic or acid-forming elements or compounds,” and a 5-acre maximum excavation-area limit. Staff and the city’s independent consultants also described a long list of monitoring and reporting conditions the applicant must meet before and during operations.

Why it matters: The project would expand a gravel operation across two Keene parcels and adjoining property in Sullivan and Roxbury, covering roughly 300 acres of ownership with about 31 acres proposed to be disturbed through eight phased permit periods. Opponents raised concerns about visual impacts, dust and traffic on Route 9, and the risk of “acid mine drainage” from pyrite-bearing bedrock. Supporters and the applicant’s experts said monitoring, engineered controls and a staged work plan would mitigate those risks.

The applicant’s presentation and independent review

Ariane Ice, speaking for the applicant team, recapped the application and the review history and said the Keene regulations “meet or exceed” the state earth-excavation standards in RSA 155‑E. She noted the city had hired outside reviewers and said the applicant had revised plans to respond to those reviews. The application team included Granite Engineering and its project engineers, hydrogeologist Joel Banzak of Frontier Geo Services and other specialists on wildlife, noise and real estate.

Brent Cole of Granite Engineering explained the phased plan: eight excavation periods staged so the operation disturbs no more land than necessary at any one…