A sign posted for a community rally lists some of the community’s concerns about the proposed Three Oaks Quarry in Hamptonville.
The Yadkin County Board of Commissioners met Monday evening with an agenda that drew residents out in droves to hear what fate will befall hundreds of acres near Yadkin Elementary School that may be turned into a mining operation.
The land in question is off US Highway 21 in Hamptonville and is currently zoned as Rural Agriculture. Three Oaks Quarry, owned by real estate developer Jack Mitchell, has made a request the land be rezoned as Manufacturing Industrial (MI-1) conditional zoning district so he may open an aggregate mine.
Last week county residents were informed any vote on the matter and the full public hearing scheduled for the commissioners meeting Monday were to be postponed due to, “Open legal questions, details in the proposed plan that are in need of clarification, and continuing negotiations regarding possible conditions.”
Chairman Kevin Austin said the board will, “Continue the Three Oaks Quarry public hearing Tuesday August 23 at 7 p.m. in the Board of Commissioners meeting chamber. Public comment will then be received in accordance with the Board’s rules for public hearings.”
Since last fall, Hamptonville residents and others concerned about the implications of rezoning such a large piece of land have been attending county commissioner and planning board meetings to express their opposition to the plan.
For some, they are feeling the squeeze as a business decision that may benefit the county abuts their own desire for the swath of pristine agricultural land be left as it is. Darrell Bryant asked of the decision facing the board, “Is it good for Yadkin County or is it good for Hamptonville, and are those opposing things? Hamptonville is really against this.”
He went on to say Three Oaks may not have the best interest of local residents in mind. “These people will not be here in any fashion, shape, or form even if they stay and continue to operate it, they’re not going to live here. They’re not going to live near that location.”
When reports of “mysterious drilling” first appeared last year neighbors were concerned, and answers were not immediately forthcoming. A letter from Mitchell to neighbors later advised he was seeking the 498-acre tract for the purpose of a quarry to mine aggregate — a key ingredient in construction materials.
Mitchell informed the probative drilling was part of a due diligence process to determine the best use for the property. “There are a lot of different questions, comments, and concerns, a lot of them are very valid, but I think there is also a lot of misinformation out there right now. We want to be a good neighbor,” he said earlier this year.
The Three Oaks Quarry’s rezoning request was approved by the Yadkin County Planning Board at its June meeting in a 3-2 vote that drew audible gasps from the audience.
Monday night Pam Smith reminded the board that they have the power to disagree with the planning board. She cited Surry County’s recent decision to nix a planned Dollar General in the Sheltontown community as evidence of the power citizens united can wield over such decisions.
Residents’ concerns are well-documented and quarry representatives have been trying to allay their fears by laying out plans for mitigation of traffic, blasting noise, air pollution, potential damage to the Hood Chamberlain Dam, and to the many area residents who depend on well water as their lifeline.
Tom Terrell spoke on behalf of Three Oaks Quarry and said the board was hearing things stated as facts that were not. “The issues are well intended, but the facts behind them aren’t there,” he said.
“There will not be an asphalt plant and concrete plants because the conditions that we have place on this project state clearly and unambiguously that the only use allowed is mining. The only type of mining allowed is aggregate mining, there will not be lithium mining on this site. It is impossible, it is a condition that is enforceable by the county.”
Speakers Monday asked the board what may happen if this company sells itself off and leaves town,
“What happens if the mine is sold? The conditions run with the land,” Terrell said and would convey to a new owner. “The conditions you are about to see next week are the strongest, broadest, and they are the strictest zoning conditions that have been put in place – if you approve this – on any aggregate mine in the state of North Carolina.”
Residents are not the only ones who have taken umbrage with the plan for the quarry. Yadkin School Board members Tim Weatherman, Tim Parks and Sharon Yale as well as Yadkin County Schools Superintendent Todd Martin attended past meetings to express their opinion not only as residents but as guarantors of the safety of students.
“It’s my job to advocate for the children of this school and the other schools here in this county,” Martin said in March. “It’s greatly concerning to me, personally, to know that a mine is going to be just behind this school and in such close proximity to students. I just don’t think that’s what’s best for students, bottom line.”
Speakers Monday told the commissioners they had fears of the additional traffic that would be created adding heavy trucks with hundreds of additional runs per day. They noted a logging truck fatality that had taken the lives of a Dobson mother and child just last week.
Also of concern are the number of younger drivers on these roads, notably teenagers driving to school. Furthermore, they wondered what would happen when Interstate 77 has an accident and traffic needs to be diverted onto Highway 21.
The county asked for and received a report from Schnabel Engineering on the possible impacts of the project on the area. It was released earlier this month and went through many of the issues residents have listed as concerns. Its summary said the firm, “Cannot make a full determination of the potential impacts that operation and development of Three Oaks Quarry will have on surrounding resources.”
It went on to say, “Based on our experience, the information provided indicates that Three Oaks plans to meet, or exceed, the standard of care for similar mining operations in this region. This does not mean that there will not be impacts to the surrounding resources.”
There report indicated that the distance between the proposed quarry and the dam should mean there would be no impact to the dam itself from any blasting.
For another week, the issue will remain unresolved as it has for several months, driving the anxiety of local residents to new heights. Next Tuesday will be another crowded meeting with lots of local parties hoping to sway the Board of Commissioners to keep rural Yadkin County just the way it is.
Ryan Kelly is Assistant Editor of The Mount Airy News contributing this week to The Ripple.