HALIFAX — It is approaching a full year since the state's Act 250 District Commission completed public hearings on a proposed industrial-scale schist quarry in Halifax's conservation district.
During that time, the commission provided numerous opportunities for the applicant and opponents to submit additional information. Final deadlines for submissions have passed, and it is expected that a ruling will be issued shortly.
A large number of interested parties who participated in the Act 250 hearings also attended hearings held in a parallel town permitting process, in which the Zoning Board of Adjustment ultimately denied the application for a town permit.
Among those interested parties in opposition to the quarry is a collection of concerned citizens organized as the Halifax Conservation Group (HCG). This group trusts that the Act 250 Commission will:
• act in a timely manner,
• strictly avoid bias and act solely on the merits,
• consider testimony by the chair of the Halifax Selectboard, declaring the quarry to be an inappropriate project for the community,
• respect the Halifax Planning Commission's filed comments and the Zoning Board of Adjustment's denial of a town permit.
In matters like this, it takes courage to say no. We encourage the commission to say no to the proposed quarry in order to preserve Halifax's Conservation District, protect its citizens' quality of life, and defend the community's viability going forward.