The Allen County Plan Commission and Zoning Board will both consider a large quarry project being proposed in southwest Allen County next week. And the project has recieved strong opposition from neighbors.
The proposal submitted by US Aggregates, a subsidiary of Indianapolis based Heritage Group,would developmore than 800 acres between Homestead and Yohne Roads.
But that proposal requires the property be rezoned. The company will need the county to rezone 186.2 acres for intensive industrial use and 203.1 acres to a shopping center designation.
For the quarry itself, the company is asking the board to approve rezoning 524.3 acres.
The area in the Little River Valley was chosen due to a large limestone deposit under the site. Several other quarries have been in operation in that area, with a likely limestone vein connecting all the sites running southwest from Fort Wayne.
US Aggregates submitted its proposal to the Department of Planning Services at the beginning of March.
In the nearly three months since the initial proposal, multiple community stakeholders, as well as a large group of residents in the area, have come out in opposition to the quarry.
The Southwest Allen County Schools board passed a unanimous resolution to oppose the project. In a statement, they said “we have serious concerns about the impact ... on student health and safety, transportation routes, traffic patterns and the overall integrity of the educational environment.”
In a letter included with the initial proposal, the company’s lawyers at Barrett-McNagny stated the company “had preliminary discussions with the Little River Wetlands Project (LRWP) concerning the conveyance of some portion of the land ... to the LRWP” to help create various nature preserves.
A month later, the LRWP put out a statement staunchly opposing the quarry, saying; “It takes away the opportunity to restore this land to the vital wetland ecosystems that benefit us all.”
IU Health, who is building a new hospital campus about a mile away from the proposed site, also sent out a statement opposing the quarry in late March. It read; “The rock quarry as we understand it will introduce significant industrial activity such as blasting that could impact patient safety, healing, and healthcare equipment.”
In April, US Aggregates and the Heritage Group invited residents to an information session on the quarry, an attempt to answer questions and address concerns.
Two slides specifically showed places where other quarries coexist with hospitals and schools. In the initial plan, the commercial district on the land is proposed for developing hotels, restaurants, professional offices and shops.
In the letter from Barrett-McNagny, they say the district would be supportive of the hospital system, as well as provide a buffer between the campus and the quarry.
Before the meeting in April, the Vice President of External Affairs for the Heritage Group, Megan Savage, said the mining industry is heavily regulated and monitored.
“We comply with and exceed all of those regulations and take that very seriously," Savage said. "Both the health of our employees and the communities where we operate is top of mind in importance for us.”
But none of this has been enough for many neighbors in the area. The site is on the other side of a railroad track and a highway from the East and West Hamlets neighborhoods, but it’s still less than half a mile away.
Residents have formed the aptly named group ‘No Quarry on Homestead,’ which is opposing the quarry for a handful of reasons, but the highlights are concerns about property taxes, noise and air pollution and environmental harm.
After the public meeting offered by the Heritage Group, one member of the opposition group, Steve McClaine, said the company chose the site for the empty land, without regard for the people living around it.
“The Hamlets, Asbury Park, Manorwoods; All of those neighborhoods are going to be completely affected by this," he said. "So, quite honestly, it just doesn’t belong here.”
No Quarry on Homestead started a petition that, as of Friday afternoon, has nearly 11,000 signatures and a GoFundMe to pay for yard signs, marketing materials and the possibility of legal council has raised nearly $13,000.
The site is also close to several natural wetlands, such as Eagle Marsh and Fox Island.
Earlier this year, Fox Island Park and Education Manager Natalie Collins described some of the effects she saw in the park from another non-operational quarry in the area to WANE 15.
She said vibrations from the quarry pushed away a rare type of snake, the Massasauga rattlesnake. She also told the news station the park was much drier during quarry operations, due to groundwater usage.
After a year without operation, Collins said she saw waterfowl, eagles and other birds returning to the park.
The quarry proposed by US Aggregates would operate just under three miles from Fox Island.
The informational session lasted about two hours, with presentations from the Heritage Group, US Aggregates and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. A seven-page handout from the company answered resident’s questions and representatives stuck around after to speak with people individually.
But, for Steve McClaine, the meeting offered him some insight, and he says he learned a few things, but ultimately it didn’t change his stance. As for what would need to happen for him to feel comfortable with the quarry...
“Oh, that’s an obvious question and I’m happy to answer that; is move it," McClaine said. "It needs to go somewhere else.”
The Allen County Board of Zoning Appeals will consider the proposal from US Aggregates at a special meeting on May 26 at 5:30 p.m., immediately followed by an Allen County Plan Commission public hearing at 6:30. The meetings will be held at the Coliseum to accommodate the anticipated crowd.
Due to the expected size of the crowd, the county also adopted Special Rules of Procedure for the meeting. Under those rules, the petitioner will have 15 minutes to speak, those representing a group will have 5 minutes and individual speakers will have 2 minutes. Find more on those procedures at the county's website.
