There’s been an update in Vulcan Materials Company’s petition for review against Jackson County.
The petition came after the Jackson County Board of Commission denied Vulcan’s special use permits to build a quarry in the southern part of the county in November.
The petition was filed Dec. 2 of last year and claimed that the commission’s decision was “not sustained by sufficient evidence” and “clearly erroneous.”
The county filed a response on Dec. 19 citing that the 5-1 decision by the commission was in accordance with Jackson County code, Georgia law, and other applicable law.’
In the latest filing on Friday, Vulcan claimed that they took measures to meet zoning requirements, including a 200-acre conservation tract for recreational use off of Chandler Bridge Road and facing the operations towards existing industrial uses on U.S. 441.
“Vulcan submitted a traffic study, air quality study, noise study, and well impact study as required by the ordinance,” the filing reads.
Vulcan claimed that their studies showed little to no impact on the surrounding area, and said that the nearby residents’ fears were “generalized.”
A major concern for residents was environmental impact, most notably the possibility of a groundwater recharge area.
In the latest filing, Vulcan said the area did not meet the definition of a groundwater recharge area.
It is important to note that according to Good Jobs First’s Violation Tracker, Vulcan Materials and their subsidiaries have accrued 36 environmental-related offenses since 2000, with a fine total of $3.1-million.
Vulcan is the 12th largest United States-based company in the simple materials sector by market cap according to Yahoo Finance.
Out of the top-20, Vulcan is tied for 13th in amount of violations and 15th in fine amount.
Vulcan made other claims, including that the board “erred” when it denied Vulcan’s special use because they satisfied all of the county’s requirements and that the quarry would be compatible with the zoning district.
“The record shows that the Site is zoned A-2 and quarries are an authorized special use in an A-2 zone. Thus, the County has already made a legislative determination that quarries are presumptively compatible in an A-2 zone,” the filing reads.
They also claimed that the denial would be “legal error” since they claim there is no evidence that the impacts would exceed the customary impact from a quarry.
Vulcan’s Athens-based attorney David Ellison also claimed that the county’s denial violated due process, saying that their right to use the property is the issue.
Another claim was that the current zoning classification is a significant detriment to them, because there is an “incredible need” for construction aggregates, but finding a site is difficult.
That’s the main reason why Vulcan claims the site off of U.S. 441 is perfect, saying it meets all requirements for a quarry due to the amount of material, distance from residential areas, and proximity to a major highway.
The other claims were that denying the quarry was not “substantially related” to curbing excessive growth, aesthetics, protecting air quality, noise, environmental, or traffic concerns.
In the conclusion, Ellison claims that there is “relatively little public benefit” to the denial but “serious loss” to Vulcan.
Jackson County will now respond in the Superior Court of Jackson County represented by Charles Ferguson, a Monroe-based attorney.
