PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 5, 2022
When glaciers retreated at the end of the last Ice Age, they dragged along piles of sand and gravel and left many of them around what is now this York County city of 22,000 people. Over decades, digging up that mineral wealth has become a bedrock for Sanford’s economy. The deposits today support a half-dozen gravel and sand mining operations and hundreds of jobs. However, some businesses worry that potential changes in zoning and other regulations could erode the local industry. The city may end a requirement that excavators obtain permits every five years, a process that can cost over $100,000. But some in the industry fear the new rules could be just as onerous.