In recognition of the deposits of limestone, sand, gravel and other minerals in certain areas within the corporate limits and existing and potential extraction operations in these areas, the EQ excavation and quarrying district is hereby established as an alternative to recreational, agricultural and industrial uses and not as an alternative to any other use, but shall be subject to the requirements of C.C. Section 3369.04.

Within the EQ excavation and quarrying district, no building or premises shall be used and no buildings shall be erected which are arranged, intended or designed to be used for any purpose except:

(a)

Farming, agriculture and truck gardening;

(b)

Excavation of gravel and sand;

(c)

Quarrying of limestone or other rock;

(d)

Location of temporary processing plants and equipment for the extracting, processing and stock piling of sand, gravel or stone, which plants shall be dismantled and removed within a period of four months following the cessation of operations.

(e)

Solar energy collection

(Ord. No. 1501-2022, § 39, 6-13-2022)

EQ Excavation and Quarrying District Development Standards

In addition to the requirements of the performance standards of C.C. Section 3311.16, the following performance standards and conditions shall be complied with in the excavation of gravel or sand or the quarrying of stone in the EQ district:

(a)

All equipment used in these operations shall be constructed, maintained and operated in such a manner as to eliminate as far as practicable, noise, vibration or dust which would injure or annoy persons living in the vicinity, and accessways or roads within the premises shall be maintained in a dust-free condition through surfacing or such other treatment as may be necessary.

(b)

No quarrying or gravel or sand extraction shall be permitted nearer than 50 feet to the boundary of the EQ district.

(c)

In order to insure adequate lateral support, all sand and gravel excavations shall be located at least 100 feet and backfilled to at least 150 feet and all quarrying or blasting shall be located at least 50 feet from the right-of-way line of any existing or platted street, road, highway or railway, except that such excavation or quarrying may be permitted within these limits to the point of reducing the ground elevation to the grade of the existing or platted street, road or highway where officially approved by the director of public service and/or their designee.

(d)

No excavation of gravel or sand shall be made from the banks or beds of the Scioto and Olentangy Rivers, or the Big Walnut, Little Walnut, Big Darby, Little Darby, Rocky Ford, Blacklick or Alum Creeks unless approved by the director of public service and/or their designee with the finding that such excavation will not impair the lateral support needed for permanent stream levees.

(e)

All excavations of gravel or sand shall either be made to a water-producing depth, plus five feet or graded or backfilled with non-noxious and nonflammable solids to assure (1) that the excavated area will not collect and retain stagnant water or (2) that the graded or backfilled surface will create a gently rolling topography to minimize erosion by wind and rain and substantially conform with the contours of the surrounding area.

The banks of all excavations not backfilled shall be sloped to the water line at a grade of not less than two feet horizontal to one foot vertical and such banks shall be sodded or surfaced with at least six inches of suitable soil and seeded with grass. Spoil banks shall be graded to a level suiting the existing terrain and planted with trees, shrubs, legumes or grasses where re-vegetation is possible. Where flood water exists, spoil banks shall be high enough to prevent overflow of water in the gravel pits and shall be sloped, graded and seeded as prescribed herein.

(f)

Whenever the floor of a quarry is more than five feet below the average grade of the street, road, highway or land adjacent thereto, the property containing such quarry shall be completely enclosed by a barrier consisting of not less than a six-foot mound of earth planted with suitable dense planting or other suitable material sufficient in either case to prevent persons from trespassing thereon or passing through. Such mound shall be located at least 25 feet from any street, road, highway or the boundary of the EQ district.

(g)

No quarrying shall be permitted closer than 200 feet to either bank of the Scioto River unless approved by the director of public service and/or their designee with the finding that adequate lateral support will be provided for permanent river levees.

(h)

All quarrying, blasting or drilling shall be carried out in compliance with the requirements of C.C. Section 3311.16 on performance standards, provided, however, that until such time as adequate equipment, staff, and facilities or outside technical assistance is available to conduct the measurements, test and analyses required for enforcement of such performance standards, the building inspector may require the quarry operator to submit other satisfactory proof that all quarrying, blasting and drilling will be conducted in such a manner and on such scale as to minimize dust, noise and vibration and to prevent adversely affecting the surrounding neighborhood.

(i)

When any quarrying has been completed, such excavated area shall either be left as a permanent spring-fed lake or the bottom or floor thereof shall be leveled to prevent the collection and stagnation of water to provide proper drainage without excessive soil erosion, and said floor shall be covered with soil of adequate thickness for the growing of turf or other ground cover. The edge of such excavation shall be further protected by construction of a barrier consisting of not less than a six-foot mound of earth planted with a double row of multiflora rose bushes or other equally effective planting.

(Ord. No. 0128-2009, § 1, 2-9-2009)

In the EQ district or any part thereof, any land that is in any of the uses listed in subsections (b), (c) and (d) of C.C. Section 3369.02, shall not be developed or used for any industrial, recreational, agricultural or other use, unless and until the following conditions have been complied with:

(a)

Development plans shall be submitted to and approved by the development commission for planned industrial (or other) uses and their necessary municipal and utility services.

(b)

Filling of all excavations and/or quarries to the approved level with the following required fill material: soil bank earth, common earth, stone, rock, broken concrete, incinerated refuse or any former material fully flattened and compressed and free from odors. Materials containing food content, animal or vegetable content are prohibited (except where in compliance with subsection (c) below).

(c)

Filling to the approved level by the sanitary fill method may be done as an alternative to subsection (b) above, provided any and all garbage, waste and refuse shall be placed in trenches, leveled and compressed within one foot of thickness, covered by not less than two feet of compacted earth, and sealed off at the end of each day's operation.

(d)

Any space to be left as lakes, ponds, streams or other bodies of water shall be in accordance with plans submitted to and approved by the development commission.

Whenever only a portion of a recorded lot is proposed as a building site, or whenever two or more portions of two or more recorded lots are proposed to be combined to form a building site, or whenever two or more recorded lots or portions thereof are proposed to be combined to form a building site, the proposed building site as shown on the plot or site plan submitted shall be considered to be a newly created single lot, and such newly created lot shall not be reduced in size or divided or split if such reduction, division or split will result in a lot or parcel which would fail to meet any of the requirements of the Zoning Code.

Repealed by Ordinance 18-85. See Chapter 3342.

Repealed by Ordinance 18-85. See Section 3342.28.

Repealed by Ordinance 18-85. See Section 3342.29.

Repealed by Ordinance 18-85. See Section 3342.08.

In order to protect and conserve property values through the abatement of odor, dust, smoke, gas, noise and other objectionable industrial concomitants and uses and to provide appropriate locations for industrial enterprises or land uses free from offense to surrounding property, the performance standards are hereby established as set forth in this chapter. Such standards are intended to substitute a quantitative measurement of an effect for a qualitative description of that effect and to that end definite measurements taken by standardized instruments shall be made to determine the effects of a particular use. An industry shall be permitted in the excavation and quarrying district only when such quarrying use complies with all the applicable performance standards as set forth in this chapter.

(a)

Noise, seismic effects, and particulate matter.

(1)

As measured at any street or other property line, the maximum instantaneous sound intensity resulting from blasting shall not exceed 115 decibels.

(2)

The quantity of explosive in any primary shot shall be controlled to prevent damage to any structure of normal construction or to avoid creation of a nuisance to surrounding property and shall not exceed that specified in the following table:

QUANTITY—DISTANCE TABLE

* Minimum allowable distance when approved missile protection methods are used.

** More than 50 feet to bedrock.

(3)

When ground frequency and displacement in relation to the quantity of explosive in a primary blast can be determined by approved instrumentation, such blast shall be controlled in accordance with the maximum allowable amplitudes of ground vibration in relation to vibration frequency specified in the following table:

Table of Frequency -
Amplitude Relations
Frequency of Maximum Amplitude
Ground Motion in Cycles Per Second Inches

(b)

Secondary Blasting.

(1)

Whenever practicable, oversize fragments shall be reduced to shovel or crusher size by use of the ball method.

(2)

Mud-capping shall be prohibited.

(3)

Not more than ten pounds of explosives shall be detonated at any one time in a secondary blast.

(c)

Other Requirements. Any uses authorized in an EQ district shall comply with C.C. Section 3369.03.

(Ord. 2560-79.)

A.

An agricultural use, farm, field crops, garden, greenhouse, or nursery may be conducted as allowed by this chapter without restriction as to the operation of incidental vehicles and machinery or restriction as to the incidental sale and marketing of produce grown on premise.

B.

Solar energy collection may be conducted, subject to the following:

1.

Equipment directly related to the gathering of solar energy shall be exempt from screening requirements.

2.

Electricity collected on-site may be distributed off-site for use or sale.

(Ord. No. 1501-2022, § 40, 6-13-2022)

Article XII. Restrictive and Limited Zonings