Neighbors complain of truck noise, dust; Construction ongoing at XRTA Lease facility.

Byline: William Janson

SHREWSBURY - At the Aug. 2 Planning Board meeting, neighbors to the XTRA Lease facility at 249 Hartford Turnpike voiced complaints of excessive dust and noise, and idling trucks as part of the construction and business operation on the property.

"Our experience with this site has been fairly negative," said Patricio Silva, of 18 Hickory Drive, who added that the construction has been ongoing since November. "(It is) an extraordinarily long time in terms of the amount of construction activity, noise, dust and debris that we seem to have had to endure."

Boston-based developer GFI Partners began construction on the property last November. Pending an occupancy permit from the building inspector, XTRA Lease hopes to open for business in the next week or two. XTRA Lease is a company headquartered in St. Louis, with 60 North American locations, that provides rentals and leases of over-the-road trailers, such as semi-trailers.

"Since the occupancy of XTRA Lease, we have still heard early morning truck idling for extended periods of time," said Mr. Silva, adding that nearby businesses such as the adjacent Sullivan Tire shut down trucks immediately rather than letting them idle.

According to attorney Mark L. Donahue, representing GFI Partners, the building inspector, Patricia Sheehan, determined that the use of the property makes it a contractor's yard - a lot used to store equipment, trucks and vehicles - which is a permitted use.

Several abutters argued that the current use of the property is more in line with a trucking terminal, which would require a special permit in the limited industrial zone, in which the property is located. The Shrewsbury zoning bylaws define a trucking terminal as "a building or area in which freight brought by truck is assembled and/or stored for routing or reshipment, or in which semi-trailers, including tractor and/or trailer units and other trucks, are parked or stored."

"I had been told by the developer that this was going to be a contractor's yard and they were just going to be storing trailer boxes," said Adam Gordon, 17 Hickory Drive, a direct abutter to the property. "What they actually have now are commercially registered trailers, which in my opinion constitutes a trucking terminal by definition in the bylaw."

As part of the zoning bylaws, residents can appeal the building inspector's decision and would be allowed to present before the Zoning Board of Appeals stating why they disagree with the decision. The ZBA then would then rule on the case, either agreeing with the building inspector's interpretation or with the abutters. In this case, the abutters would appeal Ms. Sheehan's decision to classify the use as that of a contractor's yard.

Board members explained the right to appeal for the neighbors, stating that they could only make recommendations for the operations on the property. These recommendations included limiting hours of operation to 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, using water spray to mitigate dust, and providing monthly reports for the next year. They also said the police will investigate neighbors' claims that trucks have been operating on the property during weekends.

"We've got to separate what is a legitimate complaint from what is a `not-in-my-backyard' complaint," said Planning Board Chairman Melvin P. Gordon, emphasizing that the board is constrained by the bylaws. "The people who own the land have rights and you have rights, and we try to balance them," he continued, addressing the residents directly. "We are just like you; we pay our taxes here and we try to make it a better town."