The Manlius Town Board is weighing whether to delay a decision on a proposal for a new quarry on the eastern end of town until the town completes its comprehensive plan – a process that is expected to take more than a year.
Last week, several members of the board, all Democrats, advocated for waiting until the comprehensive plan was completed before addressing the zone change application from T. H. Kinsella.
The Kinsella quarry about a mile to the west has been in operation for the past 50 years and is nearing the end of its useful life. Kinsella seeks a zone change on a 250-acre site which is currently zoned either commercial or restricted agricultural. If approved, the new zone would be a natural resource removal district in which mining is permitted, and Kinsella would transition its operation to the new quarry over the next several years.
The new site would be accessed from Route 5 at the intersection of Route 290. That intersection would need to be reconfigured. The site would border Gulf Road and stretches all the way to Salt Springs Road.
“This kind of zone change is so impactful,” said Councilor John Deer. “We need to get an understanding of what the public wants.”
“Maybe it’s the perfect place for [a quarry], but we won’t know that until we have the results of the comprehensive plan,” said Councilor Katelyn Kriesel, calling the quarry a “forever impact.”
Supervisor Ed Theobold and Councilor Karen Greene urged the other board members to continue with the zone change application process.
“I get where you’re coming from,” said Theobold. “But I also believe in private property rights.”
Saying the Kinsellas, “have been great stewards of the land,” Greene said the board has a “responsibility to go through the process.”
Attorney Adam Schultz, representing Kinsella, said they would be happy to work with the town board on the comprehensive planning process, and the two projects can be addressed at the same time.
“This can run in tandem with the comprehensive planning process,” Schultz said. “We are entitled to have that application move forward under that process.”
No vote was taken and for now the board will continue to review the zone change application. A series of questions related to the quarry’s impact on groundwater, the environment, and other impacts have been forwarded to Kinsella’s team and will be addressed at a future informational meeting.
If the zone change is approved, the project would then proceed to the state Department of Environmental Conservation for mining permits and to the state Department of Transportation for a permit to reconfigure the intersection of Routes 5 and 290 for an access road to the quarry.
Most of what is mined at the Kinsella quarry is limestone, which is used in variety of building processes, from road construction to drainage and sewer systems to buildings and bridges. Tom Kinsella spoke of a number of local projects that his quarry has provided material for, including the recent renovations at Wellwood Middle School. Having a local source for high-quality building materials is an important resource for area residents, he said, because it reduces transportation and construction costs and limits the environmental impacts of transporting resources long distances.
“Everybody’s a passive user,” Kinsella said. “The demand for the material is not going to change.”