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Wake Stone Corporation Rezoning Application January 8, 2010 UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT ORDINANCE 604 5.23. MINING AND QUARRIES 5.23.1. Applicability. This section applies to any area of land, including all private ways and roads appurtenant thereto, structures, facilities, machinery, tools, equipment, shafts, slopes, tunnels, excavations, and other property, real or personal, placed or constructed on, under, or above the surface of such land by any person, used in, or to be used in, or resulting from (including the reclamation of mined areas or the storage of materials in mined areas), or to facilitate the work of exploring for, developing of, or extracting by any means or method in such area all minerals, inorganic and organic, from their natural deposits. The term "mine" also includes all mineral processing and milling facilities except those used in the processing of source materials as defined in the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended. (Source: Mine Safety and Health Act of North Carolina, G.S. 74-24.2) 5.23.2. Standards. 5.23.2.1. Minimum lot area is five acres. Including the 35.78 acres requested for zoning change in this application, the total acreage for the Wake Stone quarry is 265+/-. • 5.23.2.2. Such uses shall have direct access to a paved public street with an all-weather surface. Access is currently available on Deep River Road. The application includes an alternate access point on Deep River Road which may be used instead in the future. 5.23.2.3. Minimum front, side and rear yards shall be 50 feet, which shall be used for landscaping and screening. All setbacks and buffer areas are currently in excess of 50 feet and include screening by way of trees and vegetated berms. The 35.78 acres in this application will meet or exceed the zoning ordinance minimums. The distance from the proposed relocation of the office on the 8.5 acre parcel will be approximately 365 feet from the closest boundary of the residence of Denis Pake, and 315 feet from the ROW on Deep River Road. 5.23.2.4. The excavated area shall be surrounded with a six-foot high security fence. Wake Stone owns and operates 5 stone quarries in NC and SC and has been in business for 40 years. We are regulated heavily by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) and inspectors visit each quarry a minimum of twice per year. We have an outstanding safety record. MSHA regulations do not require security fences of any size but do require the mine operator to provide barriers for protection from falling into the excavated pit areas. This is done by Wake Stone and others in our industry by lining the rim of the excavated area with large, heavy boulders and berms which are much stronger than any security fence. We ask that this standard be modified for this application to allow for this alternate, better safety precaution. 5.23.2.5. Only one ground sign per entrance to the storage yard is permitted. Such sign shall not exceed 50 square feet in area. If lighted, such sign may include indirect lighting or non-flashing illumination. Such sign shall be located on the same lot or parcel as the mining or quarrying operation. Current signage meets the ordinance limitations. If/when the entrance is moved, the current sign will be moved to the new location.