Development of natural resources and extraction of raw materials, such as rock, gravel and sand, shall be subject to the following minimum conditions:
(a) There shall be filed with the Zoning Inspector a location map which clearly shows areas to be mined and the location of adjacent properties, roads and natural features.
(b) Dimensional requirements for quarries shall be as specified below:
Required Minimum Distance From Adjacent Property That is Zoned: | Residential or Office or Business (ft.) | Industrial (ft.) |
To any building | 200 | 100 |
To any crushing of rock or processing of stone, gravel or other material | 300 | 200 |
To any blasting | 500 | 400 |
(c) No excavation shall approach closer than 300 feet to any residential district; closer than 100 feet to a major traffic street; or closer than 60 feet to any other street.
(d) Information shall be submitted on the anticipated depth of excavations and on the depth of, and probable effect upon, the existing water table, and such information shall be coordinated with the Ohio Division of Water.
(e) A permit for any quarrying may be issued for any period of from one to five years, at the discretion of the Planning Commission, but the same shall not be issued until after the applicant shall have filed with the City Clerk a bond with a surety satisfactory to both the City and the Law Director as to form, sufficiency and execution. Such bond shall be in the amount of one thousand dollars ($1,000) per acre for each acre of land to be used for the operations set forth in the application and shall guarantee that the applicant will conform with the terms of the permit for the operations and with all other provisions of this Article applying to such operations.
(f) If all operations undertaken pursuant to any permit issued hereunder have been conducted in full compliance with the terms of such permit and all provisions of this chapter, the time limit of such permit shall be extended by the Zoning Inspector for successive further periods, each equal to the period for which the permit was originally issued, but not beyond any final limit. Extensions beyond such final limit shall require the filing of a new application with the Board of Zoning Appeals and the issuance of a new permit, as in the first instance.
(g) When an open excavation will have a depth of ten feet or more, a substantial fence shall be erected at least fifty feet outside the edge of the excavation. Such fence shall be at least six feet in height with suitable gates effectively controlling access to the area in which such excavation is located.
(h) All means of access to the property from any street shall be so located and designed as to avoid the creation of dangerous or otherwise undesirable traffic conditions and so as to avoid the routing of vehicles to and from the property over streets that primarily serve abutting residential development.
(i) The side slope of the excavation shall be no steeper than two horizontal to one vertical, and a vegetative cover of such slopes shall consist of a short, perennial, drought-resistant grass which will permit the establishment of a good sod cover.
(j) All operations shall be conducted in a safe manner with respect to the likelihood of hazard to persons, physical damage to adjacent land or improvements and damage to any street by reason of slides, sinking or collapse.
(k) All equipment and machinery shall be operated and maintained in such manner as to minimize dust, noise and vibration. Access roads shall be maintained in dust-free condition by surfacing or other treatment as may be specified by the City Engineer.
(l) The quarry and all its buildings, pits and processing equipment shall be effectively screened from the view of any adjoining property in a residential district with a fence or durable masonry wall six feet in height or natural planting of comparable opacity at least six feet in height.
(m) All work conducted in connection with such operations shall be done between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
(n) A restrictive covenant shall be filed with the City Clerk providing that no foreign matter, such as rubbish, car bodies, refuse, etc., shall be deposited within the excavation area. Such covenant shall be approved as to form by the Law Director and shall be binding upon the applicants and their heirs, successors or assigns.
(o) There shall be filed with the Planning Commission a detailed plan for the restoration of the area to be mined which shall include the anticipated future use of the restored land, the proposed final topography indicated by contour lines of no greater interval than five feet, the type and number per acre of trees, shrubs or grass to be planted, and the location of future roads, drives, drainage courses or other improvements contemplated.
(p) The following requirements shall be met in the restoration plan:
(1) All excavation shall be made either to a water-producing depth, such depth to be not less than five feet below the low-water mark, or shall be graded or backfilled with non-noxious, nonflammable and noncombustible solids, to secure:
A. That the excavated area shall not collect and permit to remain therein stagnant water; or
B. That the surface of such area which is not permanently submerged is graded or backfilled as necessary so as to reduce the peaks and depressions thereof so as to produce a gently running surface that will minimize erosion due to rainfall, and will be in substantial conformity to the adjoining land area. The banks of all excavations not backfilled shall be sloped not less than three feet horizontal to one foot vertical and said bank shall be seeded.
(2) All banks and extracted areas shall be surfaced with at least six inches of suitable soil, except exposed rock surfaces, shall be planted or seeded with trees, shrubs, legumes or grasses, and shall be maintained until the soil is stabilized and approved by the Zoning Inspector.
(3) All equipment and structures shall be removed within three months of the completion of the extraction of materials.
(q) There shall be filed with the City Clerk a bond payable to the City and conditioned on the faithful performance of all requirements contained in the approved restoration plan. The amount of the required bond shall be released upon written certification of the Zoning Inspector that the restoration is complete and in compliance with the restoration plan.
(Ord. 2712. Passed 8-1-78.)