A team of local developers is proposing a new quarry in Columbia County.
Quality Materials, a company based in Norcross, Ga. according to the application, and Columbia Rock LLC, based in Appling, have requested the county rezone four parcels in Grovetown, totaling approximately 362 acres, from Residential Agricultural (R-A), and some portions zoned Light Industrial (M-1), to Special district (S-1).
The property, which sits between Louisville Road to its west, Baker Place Road to its east and is adjacent to Interstate 20 to its north. The investors plan to develop a materials aggregate facility called Columbia Quarry, to produce materials for use in asphalt, concrete and general construction.
The narrative document for the project states that the quarry would be comprised of three pits, roughly 90 acres each, with an office, scales, a primary crusher and processing plant. The quarry would also have tenant sites for asphalt and ready-mix operations, according to the narrative.
A 100-foot buffer would surround the site’s perimeter, and 43% of the land would remain undeveloped.
The narrative cites environmental and traffic impact studies for the development, the latter projecting an average of 100 to 125 trucks a day passing through; and notes four similar Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) projects under construction nearby. The document goes on to mention the Martin Marietta Materials facility in Augusta as an example of a quarry coexisting with “surrounding community development.”
An addendum attached states the developers hope to add two other Grovetown parcels, 750 and 760 Louisville Road, totaling 47 acres, to the S-1 district at the request of their owner, for other uses such as for screening berms, a roadway entrance or an expanded processing area.
The Columbia County Planning Commission is slated to consider the rezoning request during its meeting on Dec. 18.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering general reporting for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com
