<p>The Goodale Construction Company has long mined for sand and gravel without restrictions. But what was once an isolated, sparsely populated region today includes residential homes. The town is asking Goodale’s to obtain a special permit for its operation.</p>
A cornerstone of the Vineyard economy for many decades, the Goodale Construction Company has long mined for sand and gravel without restrictions inside its 100.2 acres in Oak Bluffs.
But what was once an isolated, sparsely populated region with little more than a sand pit in the middle is today a patchwork of residential homes, farm and conservation land.
And amid growing complaints from neighbors, the town is now asking Goodale’s to obtain a special permit for its operation.
In a letter to owner Jeremy T. Goodale two months ago, building inspector James E. Dunn ordered the company to apply for a permit from the zoning board of appeals in the next 60 days. He wrote that the part of the Goodale property dedicated to earth removal “has been substantially extended since the use became nonconforming.”
Goodale's has appealed building inspector letter; a hearing is set for June 19 before the Oak Bluffs zoning board of appeals.
Goodale's has appealed building inspector letter; a hearing is set for June 19 before the Oak Bluffs zoning board of appeals.
“I am exercising my discretion not to order you to cease and desist from continuing to operate at this time, but will be compelled to proceed with other remedies should you not comply with this directive,” Mr. Dunn wrote in part.
Attorneys for the Goodales have appealed the building inspector’s order, claiming a grandfathered right to continue their work on the property without a special permit. In the appeal, the Goodales dispute the claim that the use of other portions of their property qualifies as an expansion.
The Oak Bluffs zoning board of appeals will hear the matter at a public hearing on June 19.
The property, which is located in a residential district, was in use as a gravel and sand mining corporation before zoning laws were enacted in town. After exhausting mining possibilities on the southern and eastern limits of the property, Kevin O’Flaherty, an attorney for the Goodales, said this week that mining has been moved to a smaller area in the western part of the property. “The fact that the hole gets bigger doesn’t equal an expansion,” Mr. O’Flaherty said.
Mr. Dunn acknowledged that the issue of permitting never came up until a few years ago.
“No one has aggressively complained before, so it was just let go and assumed it was a grandfathered right,” the building inspector said.
That changed about three years ago when the owners of the gravel pit rerouted neighborhood traffic to a new road and began clearing more trees near the residential area. Neighbors began to complain. In 2011, in response to the concerns, the Oak Bluffs selectmen voted to refer the issue to the Martha’s Vineyard Commission for consideration as a development of regional impact.
Ultimately the commission decided to not review the project and sent it back to the town.
Meanwhile, the Goodale property has also come under monitoring by the state Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program. In 2003 Natural Heritage declared that the then-forested portion of the property was priority habitat for five rare moth species. In 2012, when the company planned to clear two more acres of trees, the owners were directed to restore two and a half acres of habitat to make up for the loss. When the agency visited the property for a follow-up visit, they observed that even those scrub oak planted on an incline along the side slopes of the pit appeared to be taking root. Scrub oak thrives in regions known as frost pockets, which are naturally lower in elevation. The same is probably true inside the Goodale pit, said Jon Regosin, chief of conservation science at the Natural Heritage.
Nearby residents have complained of impacts on neighborhood. Goodale's was there before zoning and before residential homes were built in the area.
Nearby residents have complained of impacts on neighborhood. Goodale's was there before zoning and before residential homes were built in the area.
He said he was impressed by the success of the reforestation project there.
“They actually did a good job on the transplants,” he said. “This is really a potentially compatible activity, if you can take out the sand and gravel and restore the habitat as you go.” The entire pit could potentially be returned to scrub oak forest in the future, if the Goodales wish to do so, Mr. Regosin said.
But there is no obligation on the part of the Goodales, since the use of much of the pit predates the priority habitat designation.
Tim Simmons, a restoration ecologist with the Natural Heritage, said he is due for a follow-up visit this month.
Mr. Regosin said any further destruction of habitat would trigger additional review by Natural Heritage.
“Anything beyond the two acres that we have already worked out, they would need to inform us and we would have to work out what the next step is,” he said.
Meanwhile, neighbors of the Little Pond neighborhood to the west of the Goodale property have requested that the town enforce zoning laws by requiring the Goodales to obtain a special permit for their sand and gravel operation.
The residents claim that the Goodales closed off a former neighborhood access road and replaced it with a new road that hugs the southern edge of the pit, putting up a black chain-link fence where there had once been a wooden fence. They say the new access road was poorly engineered and that the fence allows sand and snow to blow through to the road.
“When I first moved here, I used to walk in the neighborhood with my friends and our babies,” said Melissa Harding, a Little Pond resident. “Then suddenly I couldn’t get to the bike path [on Barnes Road] because we couldn’t walk through the sand with our children.”
The primary concern among neighbors is the movement of the pit operations westward, toward their secluded, wooded neighborhood.
Until recently, a deep buffer of trees separated the sand and gravel operation from Little Pond homes. But the company has since removed many trees and is showing signs of further expansion, residents said this week.
“I am continuing to see expansion all the time, they are cutting trees, they are continuing to clear,” said Billie Burke, a Little Pond Road resident.
Mr. O’Flaherty, the attorney representing the Goodales, noted that the neighborhood was developed many years after the sand and gravel operation had begun.
“The folks came after, so there is this notion in the law of coming to a nuisance,” he said.
He also noted the importance of the operation to the construction industry on the Island. “Hopefully for the Island it continues for many years,” he said.
Neighbors acknowledge the sensitive nature of the issue. “It is like the elephant in the room, because they represent the construction industry on the Island,” said Daryl Alexander, a Little Pond resident.
“It’s the sort of thing that a lot of people think oh, it’s not-in-my-backyard, but if you thought it was simply that, then you are sort of disassociating yourself from the larger picture of the Vineyard — and what happens to us happens to everyone here,” she added.
The residents also say they don’t want Goodale’s to shut down; they only want the town to apply zoning rules to the operation.
“I think they should continue to make money but not at our expense,” Ms. Alexander said.
She said bad blood has formed between the company and its residential neighbors. “Words were said that people can’t get out of their ears at this point,” she said.
But she said ideally, the town will work out a way to address the needs of all concerned.
“It is a challenge to see if our town can act in an expeditious fashion, and do something that is right and doesn’t drastically hurt Goodale’s,” she said. “They should not shut down.”
Comments
looking forward to Goodale's
BobGoodale's has served as an invaluable resource and good neighbor for years. Less sand there now. I guess it's time for Corey's piggery. Island loves agriculture. MMmmm......pigs.
I'm confused.. IF the
deshandra brown obI'm confused.. IF the Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program is so concerned about the habitat for the rare moths on a pre-existing non-conforming business on private property that is essential to this Island- then where is the Natural Heritage when 5 acres of the Katama Plains get covered by solar panels? The Katama Plains are habitat for moths, butterflies and other rare and endangered species and I'm sure the moths and butterflies won't like living in the shade of the solar panels.
The same logic/enforcement/scrutiny should be applied rather than using it to pressure this business.
.
First it was the winter moth,
VeryAnnoyed Vineyard HavenFirst it was the winter moth, next it was the chimney and now it is a residential area. Well the pit was there well before it was residential area. The OB well and the Boy Scout Camp is behind the pit. I remember the area being substandard, for affordable building, so now we are hoity toity! Mr. Goodale gave the residents access to their houses, and this is how you repay the man. Ungrateful, spoiled, greedy mean people!
If this were my back yard, I
TOM HODGSON wtIf this were my back yard, I might fuss, too. But:If you build or buy a house next to a working sand pit property, can you really have an excuse for complaining? This island needs to remain a working community and not be strangled into some version of a suburban garden of eden.
This is why I baled out of
Jimmy B Pelham MAThis is why I baled out of the island 13 years ago. Everybody wanted my help to spend 15 minutes to move their piano across their living room. But nobody wanted to pay the time or gas of 90 minutes effort to drive up to an airport business park to pick up my truck, then return it there afterwards and then head home to VH again. A NIMBY situation for sure. That is why you have workers on an early boat every morning who couldn't care less about the community they work in, because they don't live there. I would have to work a 20 hour day so as to have 8 billable hours! NOT !!
I salute the integrity, and
J C Murphy West TisburyI salute the integrity, and courage of the Oak Bluffs Building Inspector. This is an issue which is hitting many disciplines, one of which is Twittered at “#westtisburynoncommercialresidences.” The concept of Commercial Encroachment in West Tisbury and other towns to a lesser degree has been constantly and patently ignored by those within the Planning board, and Zoning board of Appeals. Construction equipment, Landscaping equipment, large quantities of inventory, and actual disturbing and dangerous operations within residential zones have been allowed to be used in storage and operation of these commercial ventures at the peril, and the residential rightful peace, tranquility, safety of residents in residential zones, as well as the loss of value of their expectation of appreciation in residential investment in living in a residential zone. West Tisbury has not provided the space, nor enforced the contractors to abide by the zoning laws written, nor enforced them to use areas such as the airport to store their commercial equipment, and operate their commercial activities, thus gaining an economic benefit that others have to abide by. If an area, after the 1973 Subdivision Control act is deemed Residential it means residential, not commercial; and mercantilism for the friends of the planning and zoning boards must be stopped as has been done in Oak Bluffs.
If you read the airport
J. Baker MaineIf you read the airport letters years ago,they told the towns on the island DON"T SEND YOUR PROBLEMS TO US !
There's a community which was
BL WTThere's a community which was built beside a generations long pig farm. Lo and behold they started griping about the smell. The farmer moved his pigs all the way to the other side of the property to help the residents of this new development, but it still wasn't enough. If you move into a community nearby a pig farm it's going to smell. If you buy a home near a gravel pit and it's plain that there is continuing digging, then who's to blame? Close that pit and have fun trying to get sand anywhere's near the price Goodale's charges.
The above pig farm is in
BL WTThe above pig farm is in Bourne.
The Pit is not the problem.
J C Murphy West TisburyThe Pit is not the problem. It is the lack of legal protocol for the Expansion of the Pit.
It appears there is a lack of respect for proper procedure. Does everybody on this island look the other way when they must make tough decisions? A special permit is in order. Regular every day people made decisions after the facts were determined as to what was the size and operation of the pit, with regard to their residential purchase near the pit and what wasn't, and what was not going to be in the future. The pit came first, then the people came and accepted the pit. The people didn't expect that the pit would at random move into the Ukraine as Putin did. What is assumed is wrong, what is written is correct.
If you don't document, you don't have the right to just expand or change your business plan and manner of operation because you have a powerful state of mercantilism as is contained within the West Tisbury Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals, Who simply look the other way when their friends seek permits which violate the zoning laws. the disciplines are slightly different but the protocol is the same. The sequence of events is what is important not who was there first. The law is to be followed by all, and justice is always in the shadow of the law, not in the dominance usually contained within mercantilism. Follow: "westtisburynoncommercialresidences" on Twitter.
Anyone who doesn't realize
Dee Ouchman Isles of LangerhansAnyone who doesn't realize that a mining operation can mine up to their property line never did their due diligence.
I believe you are dealing in
J C Murphy West TisburyI believe you are dealing in the past with regard to the law. The fee of the way is never really at the property line. Some many State environmental laws, Local zoning permitting processes have taken place since 1973 that your statement simply is factually untrue. Any time a change in operation or usage is made in a commercial operation or even a residential enhancement or utilization an examination and permitting process is normally required. I may be over generalizing but the invisible hand has been handcuffed and consumer protections has taken a vast hold on just about every commercial and residential change or improvement.
Newbies always come in bad
Ron Cape codNewbies always come in bad want to make changes to things that were thare for years
Commission member Holly
gound hogg bill withers vineyard havenCommission member Holly Stephenson of Tisbury cast the only vote against the motion not to accept the referral. She asked whether the entire site is grandfathered under zoning laws and asked whether any documents show the owners intended to mine the entire property. The pit is in a residential zoning district, but preexists zoning laws.
“Where is the presumption that a gravel pit is a gravel pit and covers every piece of acreage they own,” she asked.
“The MVC, in my opinion, is letting down its own responsibilities,” Ms. Stephenson said. “This is clearly regional. We have the expertise to look at this issue. Instead, we’re just sending it back. I think we owe more to the towns.”
Other commissioners disagreed. “If your business is digging a hole in the ground, your business is going to expand,” said Fred Hancock, the Oak Bluffs selectmen’s appointee to the MVC. “That seems logical. That’s the only expansion I see.”
Voting not to review were Mr. Sederholm, Mr. Breckenridge, Mr. Hancock, Ms. Rose, Bill Bennet and Lenny Jason of Chilmark, Christina Brown and Jim Joyce of Edgartown, Linda Sibley, Eric Hammarlund and Brian Smith of West Tisbury, Kathryn Newman of Aquinnah, Ned Orleans and Peter Cabana of Tisbury.
Chairman Chris Murphy said he would not vote unless his vote was necessary to break a tie.
This is a pre-existing use.
Stop the Insanity OBThis is a pre-existing use. The pit was there long before these "neighbors" moved in. As a person stated earlier, you move next to a sand mining pit, you are moving near a sand mining pit! Really, this is ridiculous. Do we want an island where everything is imported? The cost of sand would go up at least 25 percent and more likely 50 percent. Yes, they support our construction industry by supplying a necessary product. That is not the question. The island has changed drastically in the last 50 years. But the Goodales were there 50 plus years before that. This should not be under the purview of the building inspector and it is arrogant of him to try an impose his will over the operation. The MVC did the right thing. How can you move near a pre-existing business, the mining of sand, and not expect them to operate on their property? Not as if the neighborhood was there first! Grow up, take responsibility for moving near such and operation and stop whining because that is what it is - whining. The homeowners are NOT victims! They chose to live by the operation. The Goodales did not move near them! They moved near the pit. Stop the insanity.
I worked for Goodale when
J. Baker MaineI worked for Goodale when jerry's dad owned it and if he was alive,oak bluffs would not get a drop of sand ,gravel,or cement out of his pit ! Oak Bluffs should be thankful that Jerry is
is a nice guy,if it was me I'd say Oak Bluffs import your sand and gravel,Goodale should keep the sand and gravel ect. for himself and tell the contractors to get sand from off island at about $75.00 per ton watch how fast the crying starts when it cost more for your septic system than your house! It would be cool to see about 10 barges a day at packers and a long line of big trucks every day from packers to Goodale's ! Like Jimmy B. said N.I.M.B.Y ! People ask me why I give a darn what happens on M.V. now that I'm living in Maine, 40+ years of raising a family on M.V. during hard times the Island was a great place to live but no more,when I see what the town of O.B. has done to Jerry makes me sick.
We'll said!!
Steve Edwards EdgartownWe'll said!!
We'll , here we go again,
Very annoyed II Oak Bluffs, MAWe'll , here we go again, more complaints, WHY? I'm not very familiar the the zoning by-laws or the special permits. When this project is brought to the MVC and they return it back to the town for their own building inspector to do his job,( I see why he resigned, can't take the heat mmmmmmm.....) everyone was fine with the first outcome. Two years later and now more people are complaining again I ask Why?
Mr Goodale you are a honest business man.
I was not aware that you OWN the road to the complainers property( which are only a few). I do have a suggestion- If every few years the homeowners that live on Little Pond Road are coming to you with more complaints charge them all an access fee to use your road. This could help off-set your legal fees for Mr. O'flaherty to come and defend something that is already yours. You have done enough for this community and they should respect you.
Goodales Construction Company Inc. is one of the oldest businesses still operating today on MV during these hard economic times and the residents are just trying to bully you. Make them see how much money it would cost them to make a new road through the state forest or behind Iron Hill Farm.( it will get costly if you make all the residents pay to seek an alternate route) Are the residents of Little Pond Road going to pay the fees for Mr. Regosin and Mr. Simmons to come and give another report. I really wish that Ms. Harding would stop complaining and be thankful that Mr. Goodale did put up a much stronger wire fence to keep your children from falling in the pit. Sometimes people are never happy. Word to the wise be nice neighbors, you never know when you all will need Mr. Goodale.
I work at Goodales and rely
Joshua Gerard EdgartownI work at Goodales and rely on them for employment. I moved here 6 years ago because work dried up in America. I was lucky and still am very lucky to be here. What a wonderful place to raise children. My son can ride his bike to school and the teachers are wonderful here. Every time there is a YMCA a bridge or Library built they come and ask for help building it "for the communities sake" and I am proud to say that EVERYTIME asked the Goodales help in anyway possible. I perhaps am not as patient or kind as them I being an infantry Marine see all these attacks as a war of words and souls. Defamation of character law suits should be flying for these people having been slandering the Goodale name TOO LONG. The Goodales are not bad people these are people that have been deeply rooted here for several generations. Ok lets start with the one thing that is going to happen cost of living. YES YOUR TAXES are going UP UP and AWAY... residents of OB burden TOO HIGH of a tax level as is, imagine if its going to cost triple to pave roads sand roads and build houses.... lets not present problems lets present solutions otherwise its just mindless complaining... sure its different living near a business I live near several but you know what we help each other in this world not go against each other. We talk, we have understanding.... is there some arrogance going on here YES lets all get together and not be nasty and talk it out give and take and get threw this hard enough life on Earth together as a community. The fence was not taken down and replaced with a metal one the same wooden fence has been there all along AND new federal regulations made them put up a fence around the property which is a good thing since there is a boy scout camp near by god for bid if a scout got lost and fell into the pit at night but now its not possible as they are protected. The fence is not to protect us its to protect the community. Another thing about our neighbors.... one of them has been stealing fuel from the trucks for years and did considerable about of damage to MY sea-doo and stole fuel from me BUT left tracks leading RIGHT TO THERE HOUSE... I along with a local hunter said WOW they just don't care I advised the local PD but nothing could really be done. SOOO these great neighbors are NOT all rolled into ONE as they are not ALL bad fuel thieves NO just one bad egg here and there... so I say this my fellow Americans/Island residents. Lets ban together and go to the ZBA meeting just as we did for the MVC meetings and share our thoughts our SOLUTIONS regarding this matter... Lets not present more problems without presenting a solution.. lets open our ears and hearts to the 2000+ construction workers that will be out of a job if the Goodales shut the gates... lets heal love and move on :-)
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