County Planning Board denies permit for rock quarry project
Posted on Friday, September 19, 2008
In a 3-1 vote Thursday night, members of the Washington County Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustments denied a conditional-use permit request made by Big Red Dirt Farm LLC.
The project would have transformed 57. 36 acres of an existing dirt pit to include limestone quarrying activity.
“ We are fortunate enough to have the opportunity to extract an excellent natural resource from this area, ” project developer Craig Hull said. “ It could be a major portion of the economy in this area. We’re doing our utmost to be legitimate and to work with neighbors. ”
Located off Hamestring Road, north of Wedington Drive, the Big Red Dirt Pit lies just south of an existing rock quarry. It is adjacent to the Fayetteville city limits and is owned by William G. Sweetser Trust and A. Brad Johnson. Single-family housing and agriculture land-use surround the existing dirt pit.
Unlike the existing dirt pit, the rock quarry would have required routine blasting and crushing of rock. The quarry would have also had to meet different reclamation requirements by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality.
“ I don’t want anyone to think we don’t take this seriously, ” county planning Director Juliet Richey said. “ We realize people live in this area. I just don’t know what we would accomplish by eliminating this quarry since there’s another one directly to the north. From a planning standpoint, I think it makes sense to keep extraction areas next to one another. ”
Richey listed the following planning staff recommendations for the project: limit blasting times between 7 a. m. and 6 p. m., Monday through Friday; require a buffer area, keeping the site 250 feet from the road and 100 feet from surrounding properties; repair road damage; and ensure no traffic increases.
County planning commissioners listened to more than an hour of citizen input before making their decision Thursday.
Dust, wildlife endangerment, noise, property value and safety were among the concerns listed by citizens residing near the proposed site.
“ This is a quality of life issue, ” said Jim Gallagher, who lives to the northeast of the dirt pit. “ I don’t see how you could do this. It will interfere with the orderly development of the area. If you intend for this county to have any future in terms of zoning, you have to vote ‘ no. ’ ”
If approved, Richey said, extraction within the rock quarry could last between 50 and 75 years. When activities cease, she said, the quarry would become a lake.
“ I can see the big red dirt pit from my own yard, ” said Kevin Bourke, who lives adjacent to the dirt pit. “ It’s not pretty. It’s dangerous and it’s ominous. We didn’t buy property in Fayetteville to be hand-in-hand with industrial operations. We came here because it was a green, forward-thinking area. ”
Bourke said he anticipated the existing dirt pit being restored to vegetation in the near future. Constructing another rock quarry in the same area would only devalue his property further, he said.
“ Two wrongs don’t make a right, ” he said. “ There’s already a rock quarry half a mile from my property. I don’t want one at my backdoor. ”
Arthur McCandless, who lives about 500 feet from the dirt pit, compared recent rock-quarry blasting to a 500-pound bomb.
“ I thought it would break my windows out, ” he said. “ It loosened several bricks. What will happen when it’s at the foot of my house ? I’m not just asking, I’m begging you — please, save my house. ”
Dykon Blasting Corp. President Jarrod Redyke said the blasting wouldn’t damage surrounding structures.
“ We do a lot of blasting in Northwest Arkansas, ” he said. “ This is a growing place with a lot of rock, and we’re used to dealing with neighbors and their concerns. I’m not saying you won’t feel the blast because you will. But there are no cumulative effects of blasting. ”
Area residents stood and clapped as the Planning Board announced its decision.
Washington County Attorney George Butler said the planning commission’s decision could be appealed to the Circuit Court.
In other business, the planning commission approved a conditional-use permit request for the Jones Shop. The property is located at 3990 N. Old Wire Road and lies on six acres of land. Property owner David Jones plans to use the facility as a shop / office building.
Sierra Family Retirement and In His Presence Ministries were also approved for conditional-use zoning during Thursday’s meeting.
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