A decision on a Norfolk quarry may be imminent

By Bob Bumcrot

For many years there has been a rock quarry on land owned at times by different members of the Pilbin family, on Norfolk’s scenic Winchester Road. While any property owner is allowed to mine stone in limited quantities, the old quarry at 119 Winchester Road does not have a permit for commercial operation. Jennifer Pilbin has submitted an application to the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) for a special permit for quarry and earth excavation. Several P&Z meetings and public hearings later, a decision on the application may soon be determined. Following concerns about increased activity at the quarry, Zoning Enforcement Officer Scott Eisenlohr issued a cease and desist order in April 2008. Pilbin appealed the order to the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA), which denied the request. The ZBA cited the fact that the quarry had been abandoned by its previous owner in the mid to late 1990s and was therefore no longer subject to any ‘grandfathering,’ but was, instead, a new application. Pilbin has since appealed the ZBA ruling and the matter is now pending in the Superior Court. Pilbin, who purchased the site from her brother, David, in 2002, revised the application earlier this year to operate the quarry. Public hearings were held in July and continued last month, with still no decision. However, a further site visit was scheduled for 5 p.m. on September 1, to be immediately followed by a 7 p.m. P & Z meeting at Town Hall, to further deliberate on the special permit request. Among the many concerns expressed about the possible operation of the quarry have been issues of traffic, noise and hours of usage. At the last meeting a revised business plan was presented by the applicant’s attorney. It was stated that the quarry would operate three days a week with limited hours, and with no more than half an acre of quarry open at any one time. David Donihue, who has lived for seven years some 90 feet from the quarry and who is opposed to approval, has requested that the quarry machinery be in use during this upcoming second site visit, to help the P&Z members assess the noise level. Members of the public can participate in the site walk, but for obvious safety reasons, not in the vicinity of the quarry itself.