Dorr Township soon may have a local ordinance regulating gravel mining operations and another permitting use of conditional rezoning.
Township Zoning Administrator Lori Castello of Professional Code Inspections walked the Dorr Planning Commission through explanations of the two moves, which will lead to a public hearing on the latter next month and continued discussion about the former.
Commissioner Larry Dolegowski, acknowledging the lack of a gravel mining ordinance in the township, said the issue was discussed in the 1990s, but officials didn’t think it was needed.
Castello said it is essential to have an ordinance if the township wants the ability to control such operations., which sometimes came be controversial.
“You want some control so it (gravel mining) doesn’t become a nuisance,” she said. “You can just say you don’t want it, you have to make allowances. When we create this ordinance, we want it to be reasonable.”
The zoning administrator said the proposed ordinance she produced for commissioners to examine was molded on Salem Township’s, which she said has been working very well.
“We’ve got to make sure we’re protecting the township in every way we can,” she said. “We’re looking at putting in regulations for public safety.”
She acknowledged citizens often complain about gravel mining operations’ operating hours, the noise and added traffic. She also outlined proposed regulations for such issues as fencing, lighting, topsoil and cessation of the project.
Castello said gravel mining operations that have been in existence for any length of time before ordinance adoption will be grandfathered as lawfully non-conforming.
The zoning administrator said conditional rezoning, though “not used very often,” would be used as a substitute for an applicant whose rezoning request doesn’t meet requirements. She added it would act as a sort of last option in making a project win approval.
The matters will be discussed again at the next Dorr Township Planning Commission meeting April 18.
