County likely to OK quarry expansion.

Byline: Randi Bjornstad The Register-Guard

They haven't taken an official vote yet, but when they do, the Lane County commissioners almost certainly will approve a 40-acre expansion of the Bradford Quarry southeast of Creswell.

After nearly three hours of discussion Wednesday - on top of several more from a previous meeting - the board appears to have concluded that owner Ross Bradford and operator BJ Equipment Co. meet the requirements of state and county land-use laws for expanding the quarry.

However, the commissioners will impose about a dozen conditions on the approval of the rezoning request, which changes the designation of the property from prime forest land to mineral and quarry.

The conditions range from hours of operation to footing part of the bill for repaving roads that will deteriorate more quickly with heavy gravel trucks rumbling over them.

Neighbors near the quarry - up an unpaved one-lane road off Cedarcroft Road, which feeds onto Bear Creek Road and then onto Cloverdale Road - fear that the 40 round trips per day the quarry intends to run will create noise, dust, traffic hazards, fire danger and also could damage the groundwater table and local wells.

But one by one, the commissioners discussed the issues laid out in the statewide goals and guidelines that govern land-use decisions and determined that the quarry meets the standards, with certain limitations.

For example, to allay concerns by the Creswell School District about conflicts between school buses and gravel trucks, the commissioners said they would restrict operation of the quarry to 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the school year, compared with 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. between June 15 and Labor Day.

They also will require the quarry operation to pay for repaving Cedarcroft Road, which, as a county access road, has not been built to withstand the weight of loaded gravel trucks.

Although BJ Equipment objects, the commissioners also decided the company should pay $17,000 toward the repaving of Bear Creek Road, which will deteriorate more rapidly than otherwise because of the quarry traffic.

The quarry also will have to notify residents in the area by mail three days before blasting occurs.

It also will be required to post notices along roads in the vicinity of the mine.

When the commissioners do vote on the zone change request - probably in the next several weeks - the vote probably will be 4-1, with Commissioner Peter Sorenson dissenting.

Sorenson expressed disapproval of several of the board's findings.

Primarily, he contended that the "impact area" of the quarry should have been expanded to include the haul road, giving the commissioners greater say over the way the quarry will operate, including dust control, debris on the roadway and noise caused by trucks coming down the hill into the residential neighborhood.