The Ohio First District Court of Appeals has reversed a lower court ruling that could allow an underground limestone mining operation in Anderson Township.
A Hamilton County Common Pleas Court had determined earlier the Anderson Township Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) had acted illegally by:
- Permitting mining in a residential district
- Characterizing mining tunnels as “ingress and egress” through a residential district
- Allowing storage of explosives
- Determining that the mine would meet the vibration-performance standard
- Failure to review the entirety of the evidence presented in public hearings
“Because we conclude that the trial court’s decision with respect to these issues is not supported by a preponderance of reliable, probative, and substantial evidence, or is otherwise contrary to law, we reverse the judgment of the trial court,” wrote Judge Russell Mock in the 27-page opinion.
Martin Marietta Materials, Anderson Township and the BZA had appealed wanting the lower court decision reversed.
On the other side, the Villages of Terrace Park and Newtown as well as more than 60 individuals and corporations had asked the trial court’s decision be affirmed.
The appeals court decision will likely be appealed to the Ohio Supreme Court.
Martin Marietta wants to build an underground limestone mining operation on 480 acres of property it owns in the township.
The opinion states the property sits between U.S. Route 50 and State Route 32, west of I-275.
The site had been used as a surface sand-and-gravel mine for more than 50 years until the mid- to late-1990’s. It is now vacant.
In 2008, the company filed for a permit to build the limestone mining operation. The issue has been involved in hearings and litigation since then.
