According to Summit County Planner Sean Lewis, the rock quarry would cover two acres, significantly smaller than many of the other quarries around Summit County. Mountain Valley Stone in Brown's Canyon operates on 45-acres.
The Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining approved the rock pit but the land must also be granted a conditional use permit by the Eastern Planning Commission. At a Summit County public hearing last week, the Planning Commission heard from numerous residents who were concerned about the impact the quarry would have on their day-to-day lives.
Some neighbors said the noise of the drilling and rock excavation would be too much while for others, their main concern centered on the large trucks that would be traveling on the roads to remove the rocks.
"The Planning Commission wants another work session with the applicant to see if there are some specific conditions we can add to the proposal to mitigate the impact it has on the neighbors," Lewis said. "A lot of the stone they want to excavate is on the surface but there will be trucks on State Road 32 and a machine to remove the rocks."
The land is currently zoned for agriculture use.
Siddoway said that neighbors won't notice the rock pit since his family owns the 170-acres that surround it.
"It will be relatively low output and set in a valley so the surrounding hilltops will block the sound," he said.
Siddoway is the third generation to own the land, which he said is used primarily to run cattle. The rock pit would help supplement the family's income from ranching and keep the land in his family so his children can use it for cattle as well, he said.
building a rock quarry, Siddoway said he is preserving the area's agricultural roots and starting a small business, something the county has been urging East Side residents to do for some time.
A work session regarding the proposed stone quarry is scheduled for Sept. 5 and a second public hearing is scheduled to be held on Sept. 9.
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