Homeowners Seek Answers on Quarry Expansion Plan

A public hearing on a proposed quarry expansion has been postponed at least two months, but homeowners continued to press the village for answers during Wednesday night’s meeting.

Speaking during the public comment period, residents aired their concerns regarding Hanson Material Service’s plan to begin mining an additional 80 acres of property west of the Route 53 quarry along Taylor Road. The quarry mines mainly gravel, used in asphalt and concrete plants.

Mayor John Noak said a Planning and Zoning Commission hearing, initially scheduled for Dec. 29, has been tentatively moved to 7 p.m. Feb. 14. With residents of the nearby Nottingham Ridge and College View subdivisions closely following the proposal, the meeting is now scheduled to take place at , 100 N. Independence Blvd., to accommodate the anticipated large crowd.

The new date will give the village time to review Hanson’s proposal and the concerns raised by residents, Noak said.

“[It will give us] more time to review, get public input,” Noak said. “We’d like to look into it before we have a public hearing.”

"Truly unbearable"

A resident of Nottingham Ridge since 2003, Tomasz Suliga said he worries the expansion will worsen existing problems faced by homeowners.

“The shaking that we have now is unbearable,” he said during Wednesday night’s village board meeting. “Truly unbearable.”

Suliga said he also worries that dust caused by quarry blasting may contain cancer-causing silica, adding he especially fears for children who live near the site.

College View resident Kirsten Kelly-Vargas also said she has concerns about air quality surrounding the quarry. She also believes the expansion could drive away potential residents and businesses.

“I don’t think the quarry expansion is a good fit,” Kelly-Vargas said. “The people that [were] going to be drawn to our community are going to be turned away.”

An attorney representing College View residents also addressed trustees, saying the village waited to inform residents of Hanson’s proposal for several months after negotiations began.

“Negotiations have been ongoing since May,” he said. “They believe, and rightly so, that they should have been involved in this process since the very beginning.”

A letter was sent to homeowners at the end of November informing them of Hanson’s intent to pursue an expansion.

Residents air concerns

Hanson representatives during a private, invitation-only meeting at Village Hall. Suliga said other homeowners, including some from College View, showed up at the closed meeting to air their concerns.

“We didn’t get any answers,” Suliga said. “They didn’t address the issues,” including homeowners’ fear that if Hanson’s proposal is approved by the village, underground mining would be permitted at the quarry.

“Now it’s just surface [mining],” he said. “It’s going to be much, much bigger.”

Suliga said homeowners were also unsatisfied with Hanson reps' response to questions regarding possible changes to blasting standards.

"That is very concerning," he said, adding a Hanson staffer offered a presentation that compared the blasting to "someone slamming a door."

"That is absolutely false," Suliga said. "Our houses are shaking. There are cracks in buildings."

Hanson officials weren't available for comment Thursday. A woman who answered the telephone at the quarry said the location is operating on "pretty much a skeleton crew" until after New Year's, adding no one on site had the authority to comment on the plans.

A second private meeting, intended for residents of College View in unincorporated Lockport, was held Dec. 19.

Despite the fact that the planning and zoning public hearing has been postponed, Suliga said homeowners still intend to show up for the committee’s Dec. 29 meeting.

Noak, who would only say that Hanson is seeking permission to expand onto the 80-acre site, urged residents who have concerns or questions to call or email the village.

“We want them to contact us,” he said.