Waterford — The president of a Waterford cement company plans to keep pushing forward with his company's quest to open a sand and gravel operation on Industrial Drive, with a final decision from the state appellate court and a six-year application effort behind him.

Kobyluck Bros. owner Matt Kobyluck first submitted an application to construct a rock-crushing operation on a 37-acre Industrial Drive plot in July 2010.

Kobyluck Bros. planned to crush and remove 350,000 cubic yards of granite bedrock from the site, then bring raw materials from off site to crush into gravel and crushed stone products that would then be sold for use in construction projects.

After a two-year application process, the town's Planning and Zoning Commission decided that the company's proposal did not count as "manufacturing" and was therefore not allowed in the industrial zone.

A Superior Court judge upheld that decision in 2014, but the appellate court reversed the Superior Court's ruling in July. The commission, represented by Waterford Town Attorney Robert Avena, requested the appellate court reconsider, but in September the court denied that request.

With that decision final, the question of whether rock crushing is allowed under the zoning regulations in place at the time has been answered: yes.

Now, Kobyluck Bros. and the town likely will go to court again to argue over the Waterford Conservation Commission's decision to deny the application in 2012.

Like the Planning and Zoning Commission, the Conservation Commission denied Kobyluck's application to build the facility in 2012. They cited concerns from neighbors and other town residents who argued that the project, which would be located at the headwaters of Jordan Brook, would damage the brook and surrounding wetlands. People also raised concerns about dust, noise pollution and other environmental damage.

Kobyluck said Wednesday that he has modified his proposal to accommodate environmental concerns, and that it was designed to minimize noise and dust.

He was hopeful that the Superior Court decision means his application would have better standing moving forward.

"At the end of the day, the basic premise was that it wasn't an approved use in the zone," he said. With that premise knocked down, "we're one step towards reaching some sort of compromise or some sort of agreement with the town," he said.

Avena said the Kobyluck appeal of the Conservation Commission's decision is the next step in reaching a conclusion. If the Superior Court rules that decision was incorrect, both the Conservation Commission and the Planning and Zoning Commission — the two bodies that must approve permits for the rock-crushing facility — will have to reconsider Kobyluck's application.

The town's zoning regulations have since been revised to list more specifically what is allowed in the zone, but Kobyluck's application is subject to the 2011 regulations in place when he filed it.

m.shanahan@theday.com