Owner of Unapproved South St. Contractor Yard Seeks to Reopen

In October, longtime South St. resident Bob Lambert took to social media to highlight dozens of trucks flying up and down the narrow, 20 MPH road at all hours of the day and night, including weekends. The destination for many heavy vehicles was a lot at 1323 South St. owned by Matthew Strong of Forever Endeavor, an LLC registered at 4 Rennie Dr., Andover, that was being used to store construction materials, landscaping equipment, junk cars and other debris. 

That lot, which is zoned industrial, is in Andover but is accessible only through a residential area of Tewksbury, via South St. The formerly wooded lot had been stripped of trees and was dotted with cement blocks delineating storage areas for various landscaping businesses. 

After members of the Tewksbury planning board and local officials raised concerns, Andover building commissioner Christopher Clemente found that the property was being used as a contractors yard without having the required Zoning Board of Appeals approval. Based on that finding, Clemente issued a cease and desist letter and ordered Strong to remove all equipment, vehicles, construction and earth materials forthwith.

Now, Strong is seeking to overturn Clemente’s decision and/or receive a special permit to operate a contractor’s yard. The Andover Zoning Board of Appeals will hear that petition at an open meeting on Thursday, Dec. 2 at 6:30 p.m. Tewksbury residents may attend the meeting.

Lorna Garey

Lorna is a U.S. Army veteran and 25-year resident of Tewksbury who has written for organizations ranging from the DIA to InformationWeek to a free weekly in New London that sent her to interview the pastry chef at Foxwoods.