Lisa Brouillette: Voice your concerns about quarry

Lisa Brouillette
Columnist
Published: September 19, 2008

Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the watershed — Martin Marietta is requesting an ADEM permit for yet another quarry in Loachapoka. Yes, another quarry, near to the existing one, dumping into a tributary of Saugahatchee Creek.

Concerned about the negative impacts of this proposed quarry? Request an ADEM public hearing on the air and water quality issues involved. Ask your local and state officials to do the same.
Send your requests before Oct. 2. Contact info and other details are online at http://www.adem.state.al.us/PublicNotice/Sept08/npdes/9martin.pdf and http://placeforum.org.

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The Auburn city council has twice postponed its decision on whether to annex part of Tom Hayley’s residential Donahue Ridge subdivision. Council members cited concerns that the bulk of the project wasn’t included in the annexation request.

That is important because land not annexed remains in the county’s jurisdiction and isn’t subject to Auburn’s zoning and use regulations. Relatively unregulated commercial development could occur on the unannexed sections, adjacent to residential subdivisions that are within the city limits.

Hayley’s West Pace project also appears stalled. The new tax improvement district for the project was approved months ago, but hasn’t yet been created.

Perhaps one reason is the ongoing West Pace LLC lawsuit against the state. The suit is an attempt to force the state to grant the project three access points via state park land, on the access-restricted Shell Toomer Parkway.

A recent failed proposal to settle that lawsuit included a requirement for the city of Auburn to agree to take ownership of the Parkway. It’s unclear if the state had even agreed to the settlement terms, as no state signatures were on the document presented to the city. And the city didn’t approve the idea before the proposal’s deadline.

Considering the current economic slowdown, and the unresolved question of access to the property, one has to wonder about the fate of the West Pace project and the Lynch auto dealership locations there.

Also important, though, is the fate of Shell Toomer Parkway itself. It’s not just a road. It’s something special and unique in Auburn — a legally-designated parkway,  a 300-foot wide section of Chewacla State Park, created to protect that area’s natural rural environment.

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Concerned readers asked which subdivisions the city has identified as needing the sewer backflow devices I wrote about last month. Two recent examples are the Clevelands’ Mimms Trail project on Shell Toomer Parkway and Tom Hayley’s Donahue Ridge project on N. Donahue. For info on others, check with the city’s planning staff.

Lisa Brouillette is a community activist, editor, and writer. Contact her at or visit her website http://placeforum.org.