Dear Editor,
In less than 30 days, on July 2, the Putnam County Planning & Zoning Commissioners will attempt to vote again on the rezoning request made by Hans Dawson and Putnam County Stone LLC for 917.78 acres on Dennis Station Road to become an open-pit mine.
As homeowners in District 4 since August 1999, we continue to oppose the rezoning request on the grounds it is detrimental to the environment and poses a potential hazard to the nearby community.
Hans Dawson’s suggestion of a reduction in the size of the quarry or being “good citizens” to the county will not change the following real issues:
1. All proposed incremental new jobs and revenue are aspirational and not guaranteed, and a reduced quarry size means a reduction of the original new job and revenue estimates to an amount that will never offset the environmental damage over the proposed quarry lifespan of 75-plus years.
2. Blasting activities will occur regardless of the size of the quarry and the statement “no blasting activities will be conducted beyond a time period between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on weekdays only” is ambitious but not realistic since: blasting will occur much more frequently than 1-2 times per month during the early stages of the quarry; water trucks used once a day will not adequately control potentially hazardous silica dust; hydraulic hammering will be incessant; and, quarry operating hours are designated between 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, which means heavy-duty truck traffic and quarry noise, in addition to periodic blasting, will occur six days per week.
3. Hans Dawson’s commissioned traffic study indicated Dennis Station Road is a satisfactory secondary collector road; however, Dennis Station Road is not built to collector-level standards per GDOT specifications for heavy-duty dump trucks and can barely accommodate the current logging and finished lumber truck traffic; Dennis Station Road does not have a minimum of 12-foot-wide lanes; Dennis Station Road does not have adequate 10-foot-wide paved shoulders; and, Dennis Station Road lacks a southbound left-turn lane to accommodate a level of through traffic consistent with resident expectations.
The most ominous part of Hans Dawson’s application states there is an “established pattern of industrial development in the vicinity that will further the strong, balanced economy envisioned by the county in the Comprehensive Plan.”
The current Comprehensive Plan does not mention an industrial corridor on Dennis Station Road, and the creation of one should not be implied or considered solely based on the existing Interfor plant. It is worrisome to think that the Putnam County Planning & Zoning Commission and the Board of Commissioners intend to make Dennis Station Road an industrial corridor.
No setback from the road will mask the negative environmental, health, noise, and air pollution impacts on current and unborn residents of District 4 from the proposed open-pit quarry's 75-plus years of operation.
Approving something this destructive in District 4 sets a precedent for similar proposals in Districts 1, 2, and 3.
We respectfully request that each District Commissioner of Putnam County’s Planning & Zoning Board and our elected county commissioners pause and truly consider the overarching negative consequences if Hans Dawson’s quarry zoning request is approved.
Regards, James & Sharon Cobb District 4, Putnam County