The owners of a North Raleigh rock quarry have filed an application to rezone almost 100 acres of property in order to expand operations.
Martin Marietta Materials Inc, owns the property north of Westgate Road near Ebeneezer Church Road. The property sits just west of the Wyngate subdivision, and residents came out in droves to Tuesday’s joint meeting of the City Council and the Planning Commission to show their opposition to the rezoning. They say it will bring the blasting site within 200 feet of their homes.
The request is inconsistent with the Future Land Use Map, because the land is zoned for residential or commercial use, but this change would prohibit those uses.
There is also a small portion of land north of Westgate Road that is designated for Public Parks and Open Space.
Lacy Reaves, an attorney representing Martin Marietta, said that only eight of the 97 acres would actually be used for mining purposes. The remaining acreage would be used for storage.
The proposal would require relocating Westgate Road north about 600 feet, which Reaves said the owners would do at their expense. Reaves said Martin Marietta would also build an underpass so that quarry machinery and vehicles would not have to cross Westgate Road.
“We believe we have a plan that is in the best interest of the community,” Reaves said.
The quarry would also continue to use the entrance on Triangle Drive to access Glenwood Avenue. Reaves called the request reasonable and said that it wouldn’t increase traffic or create high-density development like the current residential and commercial uses.
While Martin Marietta is proposing an 80-foot height limit on materials, attorney Ben Kuhn, representing Wyngate homeowners, said that because of the geography of the area, it is possible that these piles could exceed the limit.
Residents gathered Tuesday to show their opposition to a rock quarry operation near their neighborhood.
Kuhn said that the expansion will have a substantial impact on the neighborhood and called it a 100-acre landfill.
“It doesn’t work for this community,” he said.
He said the residents’ major concerns were the blasting, the storage of materials and the way it would impact the use of their properties.
One resident said that she signed three different letters notifying her of the noise related to the airport when she bought her home; she was never made aware of the quarry.
“None of them live in this neighborhood,” she said of the quarry owners.
She invited them to come into her home while the blasting is taking place. She said quarry expansion would negatively affect the resale value of their homes and that it would create a dangerous condition for children.
The case will be heard by the Planning Commission before a final vote by the city council.
Last year, Hanson Aggregates Southeast filed a rezoning application for its quarry on Duraleigh Road.
