MICHELLE WILLARD, Post Staff Writer
Posted: Thursday, December 10, 2009 2:06 pm

The saga continues in the rock quarry case.

Local resident and neighboring landowner Avent Lane has filed a complaint with the Rutherford County Building Codes Department against Rogers Group’s Murfreesboro-Rutherford County Rock Quarry for allegedly violating its permit.

Lane contends Rogers Group has violated the quarry’s permit conditions by mining rock at a greater depth and working after approved hours.

“We go along for years and things start to get worse and worse and worse,” he said.

The quarry was originally opened in the mid-1980s after the Tennessee Supreme Court ruling forced the county to approve a conditional-use permit for Stone Man to begin excavating at the quarry on Burnt Knob Road.

On the original site plan, Stones Man is given the authority to quarry up to a depth of 60 feet from the existing elevation between the hours of 7 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Lane said Stone Man closed the quarry when it reached 60 feet below the ground surface, but then the ownership was transferred to Rogers Group, which has quarried the pit to 380 feet deep, 80 feet below the water table. And the quarry works past 5 p.m.

“People didn’t like it (Stone Man), but it wasn’t a bad neighbor,” he said, explaining an occasional blast would be felt or some noises could be heard on adjacent property.

“You didn’t know they were up there. All this has just started in the last 10 years,” he continued. Rogers Group took over operation of the quarry earlier this decade.

Rutherford County Building Codes Director David Jones said the department is looking into the allegations and he can’t comment on an on-going investigation.

The county is currently in a lawsuit with the Rogers Group asking Chancellor Robert Corlew to rule on the best course of action regarding a discrepancy in the zoning resolution.

At issue is the setback requirement for resource production and extraction (Section 7.03 of the resolution). In the current resolution, quarries must be set back at least 1,500 feet from surrounding homes zoned Residential 100, R-40, R-20, R-10 and R-8.

But the homes surrounding the Murfreesboro-Rutherford County Rock Quarry are all zoned R-15, as is most of the unincorporated county.

However, a local attorney found the R-15 designation listed in the 1984 Rutherford County Planning Resolution and no supporting documentation that the county commission voted to repeal the R-15 setback requirement.

With the discrepancy and a vocal opposition from the Blackman community, the commission decided it was in the county’s best interest to take the evidence to a judge for a declaratory judgment, which would decide whether the zoning resolution applies to the R-15 setback and if it setback applies to the Rogers Group conditional-use permit request.

Michelle Willard can be contacted at 615-869-0816 or mwillard@murfreesboropost.com.