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The Zoning Board Hearings regarding the application to build a quarry at West Mill Hil has been postponed until there is a resolution of the appeal of the Commonwealth Court of the Planning Commision decision. The Township has appealed the decision and LMRA has joined in the appeal. Since the decision has a important influence on how both parties will proceed, it was agreed to wait to see what the outcome will be before proceeding.
Quarries have a terrible influence on a community. It affects:
This page provides background for understanding why we fight this quarries. It also provides for various initiatives, legal rulings, and concerns that quarries and mining in general that could have impact on our Township.
Geryville Materials desire to build a quarry on West Mill Hill Rd in Lower Milford Township is based on two arguments according to their testimony at various hearings.
The first reason begs the question as to whether their desire to maximize profit at the cost of millions of dollars to residents surrounding the site is justified. Their greed to get as money much money as possible because "they can" will be the subject of a future article.
The second reason presumes that the location of a quarry will provide stone that cannot be obtained from existing quarries and transported to the worksite at a competitive price. That would imply that there are insufficient quarries to bid on stone delivery contracts in our area. Otherwise, "what the market will bear" is what the cost will be. The difference between the winning bid price cost of miing, preparing, and delivery determines their profit;. In addition, Geryville Materials will be contracting with a quarry operator, almost certainly with Haines & Kibblehouse, to operate the property. Thus, added cost will be incurred to pay to pay thm to run the facility. Qualitatively, the issue is whether there are sufficient quarries to provide stone in our area so that bids can't be sole sourced and not cost advantage should be the criteria to determine the need fo another quarry.
There are currently 3182 active quarry sites in Pennsylania. These are catagorized by DEP as
Read More...Do We Need a new QuarryDo We Need a New Quarry in Pennsylvania?
Property values drop when a quarry is built. Over the past twenty years, the evidence is clear. Scientific methods have been developed to account for other factors such as the size and location of the property, the local environment, age of the house etc., so that the effect of property value changes caused only by the quarry can be calculated. The value of property decreases most within the immediate vicinity but will be felt several miles away. Homes within a quarter mile will drop by about 30%. A mile away the value of homes will decrease by about 13%, Home as far as 3 miles away can expect about a 6% drop in value.
On average, property within a mile of the quarry will lose about 19% of its value as soon as a quarry begins. For example, a $350,000 home will lose about $67,000 if it is within a mile of the quarry. For Lower Milford Township, this loss translates to more that $6 million loss in property value with its attendant loss in local taxes, change in the type and mix of new construction, and other effects. These losses do not account for loses in other areas where truck traffic, dust, noise will contribute to further loss in property value.
More: Property Values Decrease When a Quarry is BuiltJoin Today - Help defeat the Quarry
You membership helps pay for our legal defense. Also, strong community support is notice to Geryville Materials that we will not permit destruction of our Township.
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