Item 1: PH on Ordinance Amending Metro Plan (Delta Sand and Gravel)

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which was an analysis of ambient noise levels. He said it would be demonstrated that the ambient noise levels from the quarry activities would also meet Department of Environmental quality noise standards. Mr. Cornacchia said Delta Sand.and Gravel had been a good neighbor in the area for 80 years. He showed an aerial map of the Delta property. He stressed that the- company had conformed with every environmental and regulatory standard that had been applied. He showed the Delta area on the map and noted that a portion of the property abutted a residential area and stressed that there had been no citations or complaints filed against the company. He acknowledged that there had been a recent citation for dirt on: River Loop Road that was still under discussion. He said. demonstrating that the company did what it was supposed to do was how he defined a good neighbor. He said Delta was only asking to remove material from the area. in question and was not requesting to move its rock crusher or any other processing equipment. He noted that it was the processing of the aggregate that made the most noise. For the sake of comparison he called attention to a recent application filed by Eugene Sand and Gravel. He said the Delta application was completely different than that application. He reiterated the Delta had coexisted with residential neighbors without complaint for 80 years. Reiterating Planning Director Kent Howe, Mr. Cornacchia noted that in 1996 LCDC decided that it was time to adopt rules for the siting of aggregate resources because of the significant opposition, concerns, and arbitrary decision making by the appropriate bodies. He said th~ new administrative mles were intended to create a system of objective criteria, demonstration and evidence. He acknowledged that every quarry application had faced opposition from nearby land owners. He stressed that applications.were not a popularity contest but were instead a balance between the significant need for aggregate products and the land uses adjacent to quarries. He explained that the established standards and ~equirements contained methodologies for minimizing potential conflicts. Mr. Cornacchia said if the company demonstrated that it met the established standards for-noise and dust emanations then it had minimized any potential impacts. He said the noise study had divided the property into zones which required the company to do certain things to minimize nQise in each of those zones. He said the company extraction operations occur below ground level and stressed that this lessened noise from the site. He said, because of concerns raised by nearby residents a noise study had been. conducted at a new residential subdivision that was significantly further away than houses abutting the quarry site. This additional analysis was submitted into the record. Mr. Cornacchia cited the staffreport stating that there was a significant resource of gravel on the site. He said the analysis had determined that there was over 9 million tons. of aggregate on the site.. He noted that 2 million tons was the standard th~t determined significance of aggregate resources-. Mr. Cornacchia noted that the noise criteria enforced by DEQ stated that when a mine site was expanded onto a contiguous property the noise criteria that applied to the equipment in the old area - also applied in the new area. He said this was a lesser standard thanjudging what noise would be on a new site. He said Delta had chosen to submit itself to the higher standards of noise mitigation. He said the higher standards . required an analySis of ambient noise levels in addition to the decibel levels that occurred on the edges of the property and the noise study did include that. Going back to dust, Mr. Cornacchia said Delta had complied with all dust regulations for 80 years. He noted that the standards for what the company had to do to be in compliance was mcluded in the written - MINUTES-Lane County Planning Commission Eugene Planning Commission - . .November 15,-2005 -Page 3