Lower Milford Planners Hear Quarry Issues

Planning expert Charlie Schmehl continued his testimony as a township witness before the Lower Milford Township Planning Commission Monday, saying plans for the proposed Geryville Materials Inc. quarry on 628.48 acres in the agriculture-rural district do not conform to several of the township’s zoning ordinances.

“There are critical issues of zoning compliance which must be addressed,” he stated firmly at the July 11 meeting.

Schmehl, an expert in writing and interpreting zoning ordinances, answered questions by township solicitor Mark Cappuccio and discussed his findings with the commission.

Schmehl said the property contains several lots on both sides of Buhman and W. Mill Hill roads.  According to township ordinances, lots on opposite sides of a road cannot be merged together—they must be treated separately. The applicant, Schmehl said, has used the entire property in its calculations and this is not permitted.

Schmehl said ordinances call for replacing any trees that are removed.  Also according to ordinances, no more than 20 percent of woodlands in an environmentally sensitive area shall be altered, cleared or built upon, he said. The applicant’s plans do not show any intention to replant trees, meaning an area greater than 20 percent would be altered, he said.

 “Killing the trees is an alteration and is not permitted,” said Schmehl. 

Still referring to township ordinances, he said no more than 20 percent of wetlands shall be altered, regraded or built upon. But the plans show greater than 20 percent would be altered and that is not permitted, he said.

Turning to traffic concerns, Schmehl said the applicant only looked at capacity issues—no safety issues were reviewed.  Schmehl’s concerns include:

• The quarry in full operation would mean an average of 394 trips by heavy trucks on Kings Highway in a nine-hour workday. That would equates to one 21-ton truck every 82 seconds and 86,000 trips per year.
• The narrow roads are not designed for heavy traffic. There are no drop-offs along the roadway, there are limited sight distances and no shoulders.  “There is no margin for error," he said.
• The quarry operation could be very noisy and affect residents’ lives, especially at night when they are trying to sleep. The applicant has not offered any restrictions on hours of operation.
• The applicant has not given enough information regarding blasting times.
• Loud, disruptive noises can cause health problems due to the lack of sleep.
• 180 home sites in the area of the proposed quarry could be affected by dust -- a major problem at quarry sites.
• There are too many unknowns about the landfill on the proposed site.  “I think it is a serious situation and core samples need to be taken to find out what is in there,” he said.

Geryville Materials attorney Terry Parish requested the planning commission accept the transcript from the Zoning Hearing Board's June 22 meeeting as cross-examination rather than repeat everything. Commission members accepted the transcript on the condition that they be permitted to review it before the next meeting and to recall Schmehl if needed.