As city councilors voted to move forward with a rezoning of the land around Pike Industries’ quarry, Code Enforcement Officer Rick Gouzie has been charged with the task of deciding whether Pike has the right to have a quarry on Spring Street at all.

City Solicitor Bill Dale explained at the City Council’s Committee of the Whole meeting Monday how the two-pronged process will play out.

In terms of the rezoning, when the City Council meets in February, it will decide whether to refer the matter to the Planning Board. The Planning Board would then hold a public hearing and make a recommendation to the City Council for a final vote. If eventually passed, the rezoning would prevent Pike from expanding.

Neighboring business Idexx Laboratories has claimed that Pike never received the proper permits to have a quarry in the first place. Pike disagrees, and now Gouzie will have to determine what Pike’s rights are. Dale asked him to make that decision by the end of the month.

Dale said that any party displeased with Gouzie’s decision could appeal to the city’s Zoning Board, which could eventually land the case in the state’s Superior Court and finally the state’s Supreme Court – a process, Dale said, that could take up to two years before a final ruling is made.

Dale said the courts would base their rulings on the facts found by the city’s Zoning Board.

Though the City Council could prevent Pike from expanding by rezoning the area, the decision regarding Pike’s rights could shut down the company’s operations on Spring Street altogether.