Members of Meade County Fiscal Court worked through a lengthy agenda Tuesday (12/12) night.
The court voted to dismiss the previously read Heavy Industrial ordinance at the beginning of the meeting. The action was made to make way for a revised ordinance that was later presented during the Planning & Zoning segment of the meeting. The issue has been wrestled with between county leaders and the planning and zoning commission since August of 2022. Residents provided signed petitions to county leaders asking for help to prevent damage to buildings and wells in the area from the various blasting operations. Magistrates have worked to attempt to protect adjoining property owners from intense blasting from the rock quarries along the Ohio River near Battletown.
Ideally, the ordinance would create local regulation of blast distances from boundaries of the mining operations near adjoining properties. After another lengthy discussion, Fiscal Court voted to to move forward with a revised Heavy Industrial ordinance which would include a conditional use permit on a case by case basis for future industrial zoning. Legal counsel representing the County Planning & Zoning Commission and County Attorney Sydney Durham, both advised the magistrates that the new ordinance would only regulate new properties zoned Heavy Industrial or any expansions of existing operations. The ordinance would not have any governing over ongoing operations.
The end result provides little comfort to surrounding residents, who have voiced their concerns and asked for help and protection from county leaders. Kay Anthony, a Battletown resident who neighbors the Komos Cement Quarry, told magistrates that she and her neighbors understand this ordinance helps with future issues but it does not provide any help for the current situation. A manager for Komsos Cement asked magistrates to delay action on the ordinance until they had time after the holidays to resolve ongoing questions between themselves and the Planning and Zoning Commission.
The vote was 5 to 1 in favor of the ordinance. You can watch the full conversation of the Meade County Fiscal Court in our “On Demand” section.
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