CLAREMONT — The Planning Board on Monday unanimously adopted an amendment to the city’s zoning ordinance prohibiting the collection, storage or transfer of construction and demolition material and hazardous waste at permitted recycling facilities.

However, the effect of that change on efforts by owners of a recycling operation on Industrial Boulevard to accept so-called C&D material is unclear.

City Planner deForest Bearse told the board that whether the amendments will stop Acuity Management of Massachusetts, owners of Recycling Services on Industrial Boulevard, from accepting construction and demolition material at the location depends on certain outcomes.

“There is no simple straightforward answer (on whether the zoning amendments apply),” Bearse said. “There are too many moving parts.”

There has been strong opposition to Acuity’s proposal by residents who have said the proposal for C&D would bring increased health hazards to residents, damage city infrastructure and bring noise and air pollution to an area that is near schools and residential neighborhoods on Maple Avenue.

The group, A Better Claremont, or ABC for short, released a statement Tuesday after the Planning Board’s vote.

“This Planning Board amendment clarifies the original purpose of our City ordinance: to protect public health, environment, and local infrastructure,” said ABC founding member Reb McKenzie.

The ordinance amendments the Planning Board adopted adds “the storage and or transfer of construction and demolition debris,” to existing language on hazardous waste material that is prohibited at recycling facilities.

The new language adds a comprehensive definition of construction and demolition debris, a definition of hazardous waste material that includes those defined by state law, and a definition of a water pollutant as a “chemical or physical agent that may detrimentally alter” the natural condition of a body of water.

A further restriction states the “collection, storage or transfer of construction and demolition debris and hazardous waste are expressly prohibited and not subject to a special exception.”

The zoning ordinance amendments will be presented to the City Council for approval later this month.

On Monday, several people spoke in support of the amendments and thanked both the board and city administration for taking action to stop Acuity.

“I hope they (Acuity) get the message, the answer is no and they respect it,” resident Judith Koester said.

Opposition to Acuity’s efforts in Claremont are longstanding.

Two years ago, the Zoning Board of Adjustment denied Acuity’s application to bring C&D material to its recycling operation, sort it for recyclables and ship the rest by rail to Ohio. Bearse determined at the time that the application constituted a change in the operation from recycling to a transfer station, which is not a permissible use. The zoning board agreed and said Acuity needed to get the state’s Department of Environmental Services’ approval under its existing permit to add C&D.

“The applicability of these changes in that particular case depends on a couple of things,” Bearse told the board Monday. “They have an appeal in court that is treading water while they are pursuing an amendment to their license with DES.”

At Monday’s meeting, Bearse said if DES approves Acuity’s request to amend its permit, the amended ordinance does not apply and the application is “back in play” before the zoning board. If it is denied by DES, the court would hear Acuity’s appeal of the zoning board denial and that ruling would decide if the new ordinance applies, Bearse said.

If the appeal is upheld in Acuity’s favor then the new amendments would not apply.

If the appeal is denied by the court, however, Acuity would have to file a new application and in that case, the amendments that prohibit construction and demolition material would apply, Bearse said.

The Solid Waste Management Bureau at DES has until Sept. 24 to determine the completeness of the application from Acuity, which was filed last August, Jaime Colby, supervisor of engineering and permitting at the bureau, said Tuesday.

If it is determined to be complete, Colby said the next steps would be a technical review and a public hearing in Claremont. A final decision on the application would come anywhere from three to six months after the completeness determination. DES could seek additional information if the application is deemed incomplete, Colby added.

Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.

CORRECTION: Acuity Management filed an application with the New H ampshire Department of Environmental Services for an amendment to its permit for recycling services in Claremont in August 2023. A previous version of this story contained an incorrect date for the application filing.