Just before Valentine’s Day, Claremonters can show some love to our community and care for our children and grandchildren’s future. On Thursday, Feb. 6 at 6 p.m. there will be a public hearing at the Claremont Opera House on a proposal to turn Claremont Junction into an industrial waste depot for toxic construction and demolition debris, or C&D. Residents are invited to voice their concerns to the state Department of Environmental Services.

The applicant, Acuity Management Inc., seeks state approval for a major modification to a permit first issued in 1987 for a small, local recycling operation collecting cans and bottles, scrap metal, cardboard and newspapers. Construction and demolition debris and solid waste were explicitly prohibited in that permit. At 500 tons daily, Acuity’s proposal is completely beyond what the city and the state approved thirty-eight years ago.

Claremont, which might produce four tons of C&D a day citywide, takes the appropriate position that an industrial C&D waste-transfer operation is a prohibited use and that a zoning variance is required. The Zoning Board of Adjustment agreed with city planners in 2022 that Acuity’s project is impermissible. Acuity claims there is no change of use, thus no need to obtain local approval.

Acuity has filed a threatening lawsuit against Claremont challenging local zoning. Mark your calendars to say “no” to Acuity.

Judith Koester, Nelia Sargent, Jim Contois and Reb McKenzie

Claremont