Allen County commissioners will decide next week whether to allow Mid-States Materials to install a rock quarry on the south side of Humboldt Hill.
The contentious issue has been boiling for almost a year now. Twice the Allen County Planning Board has denied Mid-States Materials and landowner David Gant the conditional use permit required to mine rock from the land. But is was never enough to scare Mid-States away. Earlier this month representatives from the aggregate materials company took their case for a quarry to the commission directly.
Just as persistent, however, are a handful of local residents, who have pursued a polite but dogged resistance against the placement of the quarry, citing the potential for property damage, the increased chance for traffic accidents, the concern that the zoning change would set a doomed precedent, and, finally, the disruption of the quiet way of life that blasting a quarry portends. For its part, Mid-States continues to promise that any blasting they do will be safe and infrequent. Furthermore, theyve pledged to leave the land in better shape at least more aesthetically attractive than when they found it.
