Select Board approves gravel pit licenses after neighbors raise concerns about 45 Heimsbridge Road

The Town of North Brookfield Select Board approved licensing for a list of gravel pit owners on June 16 after a packet from the building inspector and police chief showed inspections met the town’s bylaws.

The board read a list of recommended licensees — including Richard Boule; Lori Dreszic; Evan Burkum; William Farmer; David and Kimber Hume; Karen Hubac; CNS Sand and Gravel; Eric Chapander; Amy Vendell; and Fred Smith — and moved to approve the licenses in a single motion. The board said the planning board recommended bylaw additions and that the building inspector and police chief had inspected active pits.

Why it matters: Residents said recent operational changes at one pit — 45 Heimsbridge Road — have increased truck traffic, noise, dust and activity at irregular hours, and they asked whether signing licensing paperwork would threaten long-standing "grandfathered" status for historically operating pits. The licensing system is intended to let the town determine whether a site is being used as a gravel pit and to provide a mechanism to address operations that stray from that use.

Resident John Kaminsky told the board he feared that signing license paperwork could cause a pit to lose grandfathered protections, saying the site "has been a pit for the last 70 years" and expressing concern that a future non-renewal could terminate the operation. "I can't see why if I sign that paper the next year you decide you don't want to renew it, that's it," he said.

Town officials said the bylaw, which the town adopted at the annual town meeting on June 13, 2023, was meant to create a consistent enforcement standard rather than to remove grandfathered status. Mayor Guts and the building inspector said a pre‑existing gravel pit remains grandfathered; licensing lets the town confirm whether a site is in fact being used as a gravel pit and provides a basis for action if a site is used for other activities, such as junk yards or scrap operations.

Officials also addressed enforcement and renewal: the building inspector enforces permit conditions and the police department can respond to noise or safety complaints. The board indicated licensing will generally be annual; the paperwork distributed for this cycle covered the remainder of the current year and staff said they will mail or make scanned copies of licenses available to owners.

What the residents asked for: Neighbors of 45 Heimsbridge Road requested clarity about what uses are authorized, how "accessory" uses such as wood chipping or stump grinding are treated, who enforces the permits, and whether tenants or new owners must re‑establish operations under engineering or reporting requirements. They also reported behavior they described as intimidating and requested that the town consider hours-of-operation and policing tools to address disturbances.

Board response and next steps: Officials invited residents to discuss specific concerns with the building inspector and the police chief, and to raise more detailed questions at planning board meetings if technical or engineering reviews are needed. The board said the licensing system is the tool created to provide recourse where a pit's use diverges from the gravel‑pit definition in the bylaw.

The board approved the motion to license the listed pits; copies of licenses will be scanned and mailed to owners or made available at Town Hall.

Authorities referenced: Town bylaw (adopted June 13, 2023) as the basis for the licensing program.

Ending: The Select Board approved the licenses but invited further engagement from residents about enforcement and operating hours; members said they would rely on the building inspector and police department to address specific violations.