| Quarry neighbors have no vested interest in its future, owners argue |
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By: MICHELLE WILLARD, Post Staff Writer
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Posted: Tuesday, November 24, 2009 11:12 am
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More than a year after a zoning resolution left the future of the Murfreesboro-Rutherford County Quarry is up in the air, Roger’s Group moved for a judgment and for the issue to be sent back to the county commission.
Chancellor Robert Corlew heard arguments from both sides Tuesday morning in a case involving an apparent discrepancy in the county’s Zoning Resolution.
Roger’s Group, owners of the Murfreesboro-Rutherford County Quarry in Blackman, made a motion to have the case dismissed and sent back to the county commission for a final decision. The company also wants Blackman residents and quarry neighbors, Avent Lane and his wife to be removed from the suit to clear the way for the case to be dropped.
“They have no standing, because they are no different from every other Rutherford County citizen,” Attorney for the Rogers Group Lela Hollabaugh argued.
Jay Jackson, attorney for the Lanes disagreed arguing the couple has a vested interest in the future of the quarry because, according to Tennessee law, quarry is a hazardous activity to those who live near it.
“This is not going to affect people in Lascassas the way it does the people of Blackman,” he said.
Avent Lane likened it to Middlepoint Landfill. While he isn’t affected by the landfill like those who live near are, he still understands their plight.
“Common sense would dictate that obviously someone who lives next to operation (quarry) like that has different interests than someone who lives 20 miles away,” he said, adding the quarry affects, not just neighbors, but also is a issue that should concern the entire county.
Corlew heard these and additional arguments about the case and said an opinion will be forthcoming.
The county filed the lawsuit earlier this year asking Corlew to rule on the best course of action regarding the 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, 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.
Planning Director Doug Demosi released a memo in October 2008 that 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.
Right now the county has listed quarry owners The Rogers Group and some of the quarry’s neighbors in the Blackman Community.
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.
At its October 2008 meeting, the commission approved an amendment to the zoning resolution that changes its language to include all residential property in the disputed section. However since Rogers Group had already submitted its request, the amendment does not apply.
But in Tuesday’s arguments, Jackson said the R-15 setback should apply because the county commission didn’t expressly approve the change to the zoning resolution.
“The mere fact that it was on the books (is) not enough to save it because it was not passed correctly,” he said, adding the Rogers Group is trying “to take advantage of a typographical error.”
Michelle Willard can be contacted at 615-869-0816 or mwillard@murfreesboropost.com. |
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