PARIS – Oxford County commissioners will approve a rock quarry in Albany Township, provided the developer is permitted to travel on a county-maintained road.

Rick Jones, of the forestry and environmental consulting firm Jones Associates Inc., made a presentation to commissioners Tuesday night.

He said the firm is in the process of compiling a rezoning application for the state Land Use Regulation Commission.

“What LURC would like us to do is get as many comments as possible,” Jones said.

Rusty Brann, a forester with Jones Associates, recently submitted a letter to the commissioners on behalf of R.A. Douglass Inc. asking to temporarily rezone 91 acres on Vernon Street to allow for the development of a 45-acre rock quarry.

The area is in a general management zone, which only allows for the development of a 30-acre quarry, and Jones Associates is asking that it be changed to a commercial/industrial development zone.

R.A. Douglass owns a rock quarry on nearby Route 5 that is expected to last another 10 to 13 years.

The second quarry is expected to expand the supply of rock aggregate material in the area for another 40 to 50 years.

The letter states that the existing quarry will be used during spring, when local roads are posted against heavier trucks, while the new quarry will be used when roads are not posted.

Jones said the new quarry will include 250-foot setbacks from abutting properties, be an “externally draining pit” that will not require water to be pumped out, and be about 20 feet above the Crooked River.

Commissioners said the issue will have to be addressed by the county’s road commissioner.

“The surface of that road is about an inch and a half, so we don’t want to ruin that,” Commissioner Steve Merrill said.

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