Quarry expansion in limbo

TOWN OF MANLIUS – Last week, a zone change proposal that would pave the way for the expansion of the T.H. Kinsella Quarry in Fayetteville failed to move forward and it is now unclear if there is a path forward for the project.
Last July, Tom Kinsella of Kinsella Quarry presented the board with plans to add approximately 12 acres in the southwest corner of Kinsella’s property to the existing quarry. Since that time, the area has been surveyed and the planned expansion is actually 12.96 acres.
At that time, Kinsella told board members that the existing quarry is nearing the end of its useful life and the additional acreage would allow it to continue to operate for an additional four or five years as they work through the approval process for a new quarry about a mile to the east.
“From the outside looking in, no one will see any changes whatsoever,” Kinsella told the board last July. “Our processing plant, everything else, we don’t plan to move anything.” The planned expansion falls within the safety berms that already exist around the quarry.
At issue was whether the expansion of the existing quarry was a violation of a settlement agreement between Kinsella and homeowners in the Changing Seasons neighborhood that was created when the quarry was expanded by 28 acres in 2003. The town board tabled the decision on the zone change application to allow members to further evaluate the project in the context of the settlement agreement.
Last week, Kinsella appeared before councilors again and was met with mixed support for the project. The board voted 4-2 not to advance the zone change request to the town planning board for a recommendation.
Councilor Sara Bollinger, who joined Supervisor John Deer in voting to move the proposal to the planning board, said this zone change is both modest in its size and important for the community, considering the additional construction Central New York is likely to witness in coming years.
“New York State, other municipalities and countless contractors depend on T.H. Kinsella Quarry for aggregate stone and gravel,” Bollinger said. “We’re all aware that Onondaga County is planning for an increase in construction of commercial and residential property that will include the expansion of utility infrastructure. This construction will require aggregate stone and gravel.”
Councilor Elaine Denton, who with three other councilors voted not to move the proposal forward for the planning board’s recommendation, gave a history of the quarry’s expansions over the past five decades and cited the settlement agreement and the degradation of the town’s natural resources in explaining her vote.
“Twenty years later, they’re back again,” she said. “This will not stop.”
Councilor Heather Waters, who also voted against moving the project forward, said the proposal should be considered in the context of the town’s comprehensive plan and climate action plan, both of which should be completed later this year.
“The climate action plan, we talked today about some huge goals regarding carbon sequestration and reducing emissions, and that’s going to be passed, pending review, and that’s not even happening until May,” Waters said. “So we’d be referring something to the planning board without that context or the comprehensive plan context, and that’s a concern I have.”
What happens next is unclear. Kinsella could revise the proposal and return to the town board with amended plans, or he could wait until the comprehensive plan and climate action plan have been finalized and return with similar plans.
“There wasn’t enough support to move the application to the planning board for their recommendation so that’s where it stands,” said town attorney Tim Frateschi.
Councilor John Deer suggested that Kinsella reach out to individual councilors to try to evaluate how he could allay their concerns before bringing any proposals back to the board.