BRISTOL — The District 1 Act 250 commission on Tuesday afternoon drew to a close the public testimony portion of a hearing to determine whether a proposed Bristol gravel pit conforms with the state’s land use and development law.
The hearing opened on June 28, and ran four days in total.
The commission examined a hotly contested proposal from Jim Lathrop, a Bristol resident who has been trying since 2004 to open a 26-acre gravel pit on a 65-acre parcel he owns near the town center. Lathrop’s consultants estimate the pit could produce as much as 3 million cubic yards of gravel.
Members of the District 1 Act 250 commission from Rutland, rather than Addison County’s District 9 commission, conducted the hearing. District 9 commissioners said the transfer of responsibility was necessary to avoid any perceived conflict of interest in the case.
With the period of testimony over, the commission’s next step will be to issue a recess order, which will probably come sometime in the next week. At that time, the applicant and some other parties to the decision will be required to produce any additional information the commission needs to make its decision. Those parties also will have opportunity to file any rebuttals. 
Then, the commission will close the record and issue a decision. Given the several deadlines for additional information, the process could stretch into September before a decision is available.
Bristol resident John Moyers, an opponent of the proposed pit, said he was pleased with the level of participation from Bristol residents.
“We had a lot of participation. We had people who had really prepared. People asked a lot of good questions and made a lot of good testimony,” Moyers said. “It’s up to the Act 250 commission as to what they’re going to do with that, but we did what we could do.”
Reporter Kathryn Flagg is at [email protected].