CHEEKTOWAGA
Cheektowaga quarry wins legal right to expand
A State Court of Appeals ruling that allows Buffalo Crushed Stone to mine some of the land it owns outside the area that Cheektowaga has zoned for such operations is a win for the company, a loss for the town and upsetting news for people who live nearby and complain about blasting and heavy-truck traffic.
“It’s going to create dust, noise and dirt,” said Frank Sikorski, a neighbor and board member of the Depew Cheektowaga Taxpayers Association, which has been lobbying against the company.
“It’s going to be really a disaster for the community,” he said. “The court ruled, not considering the impact that it’s going to have on the neighborhood and the people who live within it.”
In decision No. 118, posted online at www.nycourts.gov/ctapps/latdec.htm , the Court of Appeals gives Buffalo Crushed Stone permission to mine property, part of which is surrounded by developed neighborhoods. The 5-2 decision cited the company’s long history of mining before the community developed. It acknowledged neighbor issues and mentioned an agreement for some protective buffers and setbacks.
Cheektowaga’s attorney and representatives of Buffalo Crushed Stone declined to comment Tuesday, saying they would talk later in the week.
The court ruling granted permission to mine some lots designated by map numbers such as “5,” a large area by the company’s eastern border by Indian Road, which the company says contains 5 million tons of mineable material. The court also approved the company’s rights to smaller lots — “17C/25C” and “12B/25I” — along the quarry’s southern border, which parallels Como Park Boulevard.
Other lots remain in limbo because of questions about whether the land was owned or used before the disputed mining boundaries were established in town’s 1969 zoning law. They include “25D,” along the company’s western edge, and smaller parcels near Hawthorne, Homewood and Center avenues.
Buffalo Crushed Stone, with an 80- year-old mining history and a series of owners since its 1929 founding, has been in court against the town over zoning limits and the right to mine since 1998. About 160 of the 280 acres owned by the company are located within the area zoned for mining.
The Monday decision dismissed some town zoning limits, saying “it is unrealistic and unreasonable” to require the company to have actively mined the entire 280- acre property before the town enacted the zoning ordinance.
Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman and Judge Victoria A. Graffeo dissented from the five-judge majority and would not allow mining on lot “25D” to the west, or on “5,” the parcel to the east of Indian Road, which had been considered a limiting quarry boundary.
“The majority today muddies an area of law that ought to be predictable for a host of practical purposes,” Lippman wrote in his dissent. “For instance, residents of the town purchased homes near land that, until today, [the company] had no right to mine.”
The taxpayers group has been sending objections to the state Department of Environmental Conservation, which is reviewing a request from Crushed Stone for a permit to move equipment to a quarry pit and mine an “isthmus” of land where it now stands.
Log into MyBuffalo to post a comment
MyBuffalo is the new social network from Buffalo.com. Your MyBuffalo account lets you comment on and rate stories at buffalonews.com. You can also head over to mybuffalo.com to share your blog posts, stories, photos, and videos with the community. Join now or learn more.
Reader comments