Rutherford County’s Zoning Resolution may be changed to protect local homeowners from future rock quarries Thursday night.
The Rutherford County Board of Commissioners will look at amending the resolution to require a 1,500-foot setback from any residential development and new or expanded quarries.
The proposed change comes after neighbors of the Murfreesboro-Rutherford County Rock Quarry in the Blackman community challenged conflicting language in the current resolution at last month’s commission meeting.
The Rogers Group, which owns the quarry, requested a conditional-use permit to rezone approximately 135.9 acres from residential to industrial for resource extraction to expand its holdings and extend the life of the quarry.
“It (the change) shouldn’t affect Rogers’ request, because it’s already in the system,” said Doug Demosi, county planning director.
Jay Jackson, an attorney for some of the quarry’s neighbors, revealed an apparent discrepancy in the county’s Zoning Resolution at the September commission meeting.
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.
“We did our research but we haven’t released our findings yet because we’re still looking,” Demosi said.
The commission should hear the Rogers’ request and make a decision at its November meeting.
Michelle Willard can be contacted at 615-869-0816 or mwillard@murfreesboropost.com.
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