The future of the Murfreesboro-Rutherford County Rock Quarry is still in the hands of the county commission, a county official said.
“At this point it’s not scheduled until November, but they may talk about it tomorrow night,” Planning Director Doug Demosi said after releasing findings from the planning department regarding a discrepancy in the county’s zoning resolution.
Jay Jackson, an attorney for some of the quarry’s neighbors, revealed an apparent discrepancy in the county’s Zoning Resolution at the meeting.
Jackson’s revelation caused the commission deferred making a decision at its September meeting on a conditional-use permit request from Rogers Group to rezone approximately 135.9 acres next to the current quarry from residential to industrial for resource extraction to expand its holdings and extend the life of the quarry.
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, Jackson 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.
The commission deferred a decision and the planning department set to researching the issue.
Demosi’s memo said evidence researched by the planning department shows there is no documentation the R-15 zone was removed from the set-back clause by an act of the commission.
“After researching the issue as requested by the Rutherford County Board of Commissioners, there appears to be no evidence that the original language of the provision in question was ever changed from R-15 to R-20,” Demosi said in the memo.
When asked if these findings will affect the Rogers Group’s request, Demosi said the commission may discuss the issue at its meeting Thursday night, but “there’s no clear answer at this point.”
Michelle Willard can be contacted at 615-869-0816 or mwillard@murfreesboropost.com.
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