KEENE, N.H. (MyKeeneNow) The Keene Planning Board on Tuesday night voted unanimously to delay a public hearing on a proposed gravel pit expansion straddling the Keene-Sullivan border, granting a continuance until its next meeting on July 28. The decision came at the request of the applicant, G2 Holdings, LLC, which said it needed more time to address technical issues and prepare responses to concerns raised by residents.

The eight-phase project, led by brothers Cooper and Cody Gordon of Jaffrey-based Gordon Gravel and Stone, would stretch over approximately 13 years on a 325-acre parcel off Route 9—200 acres of which lie in Sullivan. The Keene portion of the pit began operating in 2022.

The hearing had been scheduled as part of the planning board’s discussion of the application, which includes a request for an earth excavation permit and a hillside protection conditional use permit. But just prior to the meeting, G2’s attorney, Ariane Ice, who recently joined the project team, asked the board to defer public comment and the formal hearing.

She said the company was still preparing responses to concerns raised by abutters and others.

When board member Ryan Clancy asked for clarification on the nature of those concerns, Ice declined to go into specifics.

Those concerns include potential impacts of blasting, excavation, and increased truck traffic on nearby homes, wells, wildlife, and the Otter Brook watershed. Several residents of Sullivan have said they are not necessarily opposed to gravel operations in general but are worried about G2 Holdings’ plan in particular, which they fear could permanently damage the landscape and quality of life around Nims Hill.

The Keene Planning Board’s decision Tuesday follows an earlier move by the Sullivan Zoning Board of Adjustment, which in April accepted the application for a Special Exception but postponed its own vote until after Keene’s Planning Board had met. The Sullivan board is now expected to take up the matter again at a June 10 public hearing.

Ahead of Tuesday’s Keene meeting, the engineering firm working with G2 Holdings submitted two new waiver requests, adding to several already under consideration. These include waivers related to steep slope protections, surface water setbacks, excavation below the water table, and limitations on toxic or acid-forming materials. Keene Senior Planner Mari Brunner said the latest waivers came at the recommendation of the city’s third-party reviewer.

Brunner advised against taking public comment Tuesday, saying it would be premature to do so before all application materials are complete. “As a board, you should have complete information in front of you when you’re going to deliberate and make a decision,” she said.