Members of the public returned to the Zoning Board of Appeals to air their grievances regarding a site contractor company that wants to use the quarry on Old Westport Road as its headquarters. The hearing once again ended in more questions than answers.

J.B. Lanagan & Company, Inc., a site contractor company, went before the board on Sept. 29 to seek a special permit to use the location of Pine Hill Sand and Gravel, at 498 Old Westport Road, as its headquarters.

After lengthy debate in the first meeting, the board determined that Daniel Perry, the attorney representing the company, would need to specify whether the business would be more detrimental to the residents in the surrounding area than the previous occupants and whether the location had been in continuous use.

The 90-acre property sits in an area zoned for residential use. Its past use as a sand and gravel pit was allowed as a “pre-existing, non-conforming use.” Continuance of the property's use for anything other than single-family housing would require a determination that it has been in continuous use as a sand and gravel pit without any gap lasting more than two years.

During the first public hearing, members of the public presented the board with a petition with more than 170 signatures of residents who stand opposed to the company moving in. Locals raised concerns over whether the new business would negatively impact the area and the group cast doubt on the site’s continuous operation.

The company would use the property for office space, a storage area for equipment and a place to process some natural materials and construction materials, namely asphalt.

At the beginning of Wednesday night’s public hearing, Jim Lanagan, the president of J.B. Lanagan & Company, Inc., addressed the packed room. The crowd of about 40 was a blend of concerned residents and Lanagan’s own employees.

“Although this is not part of the legal issues at hand, I feel compelled to answer some of the neighbors’ concerns,” said Lanagan.

He said his business involves sending workers to commercial job sites, so the headquarters would have limited use. He said he’s also worked as a site contractor for various projects in Dartmouth.

Because his business will only process material on-site “two or three times a year,” he believes his business will not be as detrimental to the area as the previous occupant, which operated year-round at its height.

As to whether the business has been in use without a two-year gap, Lanagan’s attorney, Daniel Perry, brought police reports and invoices that he said proves the business had some, if not limited, activity throughout the past five years. He said the decline in how much the property has been used in recent times is irrelevant to the matter at hand.

“There’s a lot of material on the site. It’s a problem. I can assure you the boards want it to be dealt with. Mr. Lanagan is prepared to remove all that material,” said Perry.

Perry said that allowing Lanagan to remove the stockpiled material on the site is “the only way to address the problems that have come from 80 years of use.”

“This is a good deal for the town,” he added.

Residents remained skeptic, however.

Robert Harding prepared a 17-page packet of information detailing the ways in which the surrounding area has changed over time. Looking at various data points, he demonstrated that the population of the area had grown significantly. He posited that, due to population growth, the new business would be more detrimental than the last because it will impact more people.

Concerns over the property’s proximity to water wells were also discussed. Perry said that Lanagan is prepared to gift the areas of the site most adjacent to the town wells to the town. He said that accounts for about half of the property.

Jacqueline Figueiredo, chairperson of the Zoning Board of Appeals, said the board will deliberate and vote on this matter on Dec. 1.