Somerville resident Shirley DErrico deposits her paper ballot in the ballot box during a special town meeting at Somerville Elementary School on Saturday, June 20. Residents considered a moratorium on mining activity, which ultimately passed 62-17. (Christine Simmonds photo)
Immediately following their four-hour annual town meeting, Somerville residents convened for a special town meeting to consider a moratorium on mining activity on Saturday, June 20. Voters passed the measure 65-17 in under an hour.
A moratorium is a 180-day law prohibiting certain development or activity, typically passed to allow a municipality to update its regulations. The moratorium approved on Saturday bans blasting, crushing, quarrying, mining, and hauling any material resulting from these activities. This means by law, any mining activity within Somerville must cease and the town must develop a mineral extraction ordinance to put before voters.
The vote was prompted by concerns over quarry operations planned by Farley Inc., of Rockport, at property abutting Somerville Elementary School and belonging to Somerville Select Board Chair William Pierpont.
Farley Inc. sent a letter to Somerville Elementary School and RSU 12 in February, indicating that mining operations would begin on the property in May, and these operations may include blasting.
Debate on the moratorium centered around whether it constituted “spot zoning,” illegally targeting one location, with Jed Davis, representing the town, and David Levesque, an attorney hired by Somerville citizens taking opposing views on the matter. Proponents of the moratorium also cited concerns about how close blasting and other mine operations would be to the school.
The special town meeting was the result of a citizens’ petition submitted on March 23 with 56 signatures and certified by Town Clerk Erin Pellerin as having more than the 33 required valid signatures on March 25.
The select board was not able to authorize the petition as a town meeting warrant because they did not have a quorum. Pierpont abstained from a vote due to conflict of interest, and third select board member Kathryn Jennings resigned from the board during the May 6 meeting at which the petition was scheduled to be heard.
The petition was instead brought as a special town meeting by a notary public. Maine state law allows a notary public to call a special town meeting in the event a select board does not call one from a valid and legal citizens’ petition.
A June 18 letter from Davis, of Augusta-based Jim Mitchell and Jed Davis Professional Association law firm, stated that passing the moratorium left the town open to litigation, and advised residents to table the matter. The office of Jim Mitchell and Jed Davis, P.A. currently represents the town of Somerville.
“In the letter that was circulated in support of the moratorium, it is made clear that the moratorium is directed specifically towards the activities of Farley Inc. While a moratorium could be instituted to address all similar activities, it appears clear that this moratorium is meant to target one site while leaving all others unaffected,” Davis said in the letter.
Davis’ letter was available for residents along with the warrant articles being voted on at the meeting and the annual report.
Levesque, of Levesque Law in Damariscotta, said moratoriums were meant to slow operations down so a town could examine its laws. He said the law board had ruled in 1996 that even if a moratorium had the effect of spot zoning, it did not void the moratorium.
“I would suggest that you take this (letter) with a grain of salt, particularly the suggestions that the purpose of this is to target one project,” Levesque said. “That is not the case.”
Levesque was hired by a resident to represent a group of concerned citizens at the town meeting.
RSU 12 officials have said the quarry operations could force Somerville Elementary School to relocate students due to unsafe conditions. The district’s lawyer, Drummond Woodsum attorney Elek Miller, sent a letter to the town and Pierpont on April 1 opposing the mining operations.
In his letter, Miller said Farley’s proposed work violates the Somerville land use ordinance. The letter further stated Pierpont’s previous mining attempts had been found to violate the land use ordinance in August 2016 by then-Code Enforcement Officer Robert Temple. This decision was then confirmed in November 2016 by the Somerville Board of Appeals, and again in June 2017 by the Maine Superior Court.
Resident Chris Johnson said Farley’s mining was “a wakeup call” about the need for a mineral extraction ordinance, as there had been other mining attempts in the past. He said both the town and the courts had found similar mining projects did not match the land use ordinance in the past.
“Don’t be afraid that a moratorium will open us to a lawsuit,” Johnson said.
Johnson said the town needs to protect the school, and the land use ordinance did not currently do that. It did not mention restrictions regarding noise or times blasting was allowed.
“It all needs to be defined,” he said.
Resident James Grenier, a former member of the Somerville Planning Board, said there had been a mineral extraction ordinance drafted and ready to put before voters at the annual town meeting, but the planning board had suddenly voted to table it.
“Willard doesn’t comment or talk on this. I give you my word that it’s true,” said second select board member Andrew Holmes.
Holmes said he was not for or against the moratorium, but the town had to be careful how it proceeded. Even if the matter passed, he said they could not stop Farley’s mining project or the town could be sued.
“Moratoriums are not made to stop someone specifically,” Holmes said. “I don’t want to see this town get into a legal problem caused by just quick, fast actions.”
Holmes said Pierpont’s property was grandfathered for mining purposes before the land use ordinance passed, and Pierpont and Farley had gone through the proper planning board process with the town.
Suggesting RSU 12 would have to relocate students was spreading panic, and there obviously would not be any blasting until school vacation. Holmes said the Maine Department of Environmental Protection would not let that happen.
Voting took place by paper ballot. The ballots were counted by Pellerin and Somerville resident Roberta Creamer.
The moratorium passed 65-17, with one written abstention. There were 83 votes cast.
While a moratorium only lasts 180 days, voters can extend the measure for another 180 days by town meeting once that deadline is reached.
The Somerville Select Board meets next at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, July 1. The town office is open Monday and Wednesday, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. It closes for lunch from 1-1:30 p.m. For more information, call 549-3828 or go to somervillemaine.org.
