The Putnam County Planning & Zoning Commission voted 3-2 last Thursday night to allow Putnam County Stone (PCS) to withdraw its controversial granite quarry rezoning application without prejudice.
The decision, made before a packed meeting room at the county administration building, ended months of debate over the company’s original proposal while opening the door for a new application later this year.
Had commissioners approved the withdrawal with prejudice, PCS would have been required to wait at least 12 months before reapplying. However, such a decision likely would have led to a legal challenge, according to county officials.
P&Z Chairman Charles Gray presided over the meeting alongside commissioners Cooper Rainey, David Erickson, Harold Jones, and Shad Atkinson.
Rainey and Erickson voted in favor of allowing the withdrawal, while Jones and Atkinson opposed it, leaving Gray to cast the deciding vote.
“I had no choice,” Gray said after the meeting. “There was no legal reason to deny the request, and if I had, we would be headed straight to court.”
The decision means the commission will not consider PCS’s original request to rezone 917.78 acres on Dennis Station Road from Agricultural to Industrial Manufacturing.
Instead, the company may submit a new rezoning application for a substantially smaller, redesigned 342-acre quarry project, restarting the public review process.
Before public comments began, Putnam County Attorney Adam Nelson explained that the commission’s only decision that night was procedural: whether to allow the applicant to withdraw the rezoning request without prejudice.
If approved, the hearing on the original quarry request would end immediately. If denied, commissioners would have proceeded with the original rezoning application.
Interim Putnam County Manager Byron Lombard encouraged commissioners to follow established zoning procedures, noting that the county has historically allowed applicants to withdraw rezoning requests without prejudice. He also said county staff had recommended the applicant withdraw and submit a new application because the project had changed significantly.
Representing Putnam County Stone, attorney Jay Dell said the original application no longer reflected the company’s plans. He argued that forcing a vote on the original proposal would ignore the revised project and could expose the county to legal challenges because commissioners had not reviewed the updated plans.
“We’re trying to create a clear path for this county to make a decision based upon the facts,” Dell said.
Opposition attorney Bill Larsen argued that PCS had sufficient opportunity to withdraw the application before legal advertisements were published and before required deadlines passed.
He said the revised proposal could not replace the original application because public notices and state reviews were based on the 917-acre project.
“They’ve put these people to a lot of inconvenience,” Larsen said, pointing to the large crowd in attendance, which included approximately 220 people in the meeting room, another 50 in a nearby rotunda where audio from the meeting was broadcast, and additional residents who were unable to enter because of fire safety limits.
A large majority of those in attendance appeared opposed to the project moving forward.
“I request that you deny [the PCS] request for a withdrawal without prejudice,” Larsen said. “If you do, that’s the end of it; this doesn’t go to the county commission. Yours is the final decision.”
More than two dozen residents addressed the commission during public comment, while several others deferred because their positions had already been stated. Most speakers again voiced opposition to the quarry, though a few residents spoke in support.
Opponents cited concerns about property values, truck traffic, environmental impacts, groundwater, air quality, and what one resident described as “an increasingly divisive process that has consumed the community for months.”
Following public comment, Putnam County Director of Planning and Development Lisa Jackson recommended that the withdrawal be approved without prejudice. She said the revised application exceeded 600 pages and was submitted too late for staff and commissioners to complete a thorough review before the scheduled hearing.
“Staff believes it is in the best interest of the county, the applicant, and the public to allow the application to be withdrawn without prejudice,” Jackson said.
After a brief discussion, Erickson moved to approve the withdrawal, with Rainey providing the second. The motion passed after Erickson and Rainey voted in favor, Jones and Atkinson voted against, and Gray broke the tie.
“Request to withdraw without prejudice approved. There will be no hearing on the 917 acres, and there is no new business. So, with that said, this meeting is adjourned,” Gray said as the room immediately erupted with a mixture of reactions from attendees.
Putnam County Stone is expected to submit a new rezoning application based on its revised 342-acre proposal, beginning the review process again with new public hearings before both the Planning & Zoning Commission and the Putnam County Board of Commissioners.