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More gravel? Some say it's the pits photo by Steve Johnson Granite mine operator George Groom uses a front loader to move decomposed granite at his pit west of Jacksonville. A recent ruling that may result in 300 acres of quarry expansion has neighbors worried about increased truck traffic on Pair-A-Dice Ranch Road. Mine operators say the ruling only lengthens the life of the mine, guaranteeing a supply for the future. State ruling adds to tensions in Jacksonville By Melissa Martin of the Mail Tribune JACKSONVILLE -- Jacksonville granite and hard rock is everywhere, providing the foundations for homes built in the "big sticky" pear orchard soils in Medford, stabilizing the parking lots in the new Albertson's shopping centers and supporting Orchard Home Drive, among other county roads. "Almost every home in the valley has granite underneath it," George Groom said as he stood on a scenic mountain mine that he has operated for 32 years. Groom is one of several operators of a hillside of mines filled with granite valued between $61 and $82 million, according to a 1994 geologist's report. The Jacksonville granite pits are among four main quarries in Southern Oregon that fuel the region's growing construction industry. But while Jacksonville's aggregate lands have helped make the Rogue Valley's growth possible, they've also been the source of tension for this town that's listed as a national historic treasure. Gravel trucks leave the pits on the only access road, Pair-A-Dice Ranch Road, rumble past about 65 homes and roll down Highway 238, where their vibrations shake the brick of Jacksonville's old buildings. Concerns about truck traffic were compounded this month after the Department of Land Conservation and Development ruled in favor of Jackson County's remapping of aggregate lands in the Walker Creek area. The re-zoning could shift lands zoned forest, woodlands and aggregate, resulting in 300 more acres of mining, said Laurel Prairie-Kuntz, planning manager for Jackson County. The expansion could mean more truck dust, mud, diesel fumes and noise on Pair-A-Dice Ranch Road, one neighbor said. But a planning consultant for Rogue Aggregate/LTM, the newest operator at the pits, disagreed. Rather than increase truck traffic, the expansion will lengthen the life of the mines, guaranteeing a granite supply for future generations, said Curt Weaver, who also owns a rock pit on Highway 140. "It's a limited market, and there's only so much demand for material," Weaver said. "The zone change means that the sites won't mine themselves out of business. It extends the life of the pits." Whether the city of Jacksonville will appeal the Dec. 29 DLCD ruling will be up to the City Council, which will discuss the matter Tuesday, said Paul Wyntergreen, city administrator. "The council's policy so far has been to oppose any expansion of aggregate on the west side of town," Wyntergreen said. The granite pit controversy came to the forefront in 1993 when Jackson County held public hearings about the map changes. Neighbors formed the Westmont Citizens Association, earned about $5,000 through donations and garage sales and hired an attorney. They filed an objection to the county's zoning in 1995. Until last month's ruling in favor of the county, tensions had quieted between the neighbors and the gravel operators and relationships were peaceful, said Jim Jensen, lead man in the hard rock pit leased by Rogue Aggregate. Rogue Aggregate (which leases Southern Oregon Underground's pit) is one of several operators on the hillside, along with Jackson County, the city of Medford and George Groom. "I look at aggregate as the lifeline to our economy," Jensen said. "As people need houses, the aggregate industry grows." And that means more truck traffic on Pair-A-Dice Ranch Road. Neighbor Andy Jones hired a high school student one day in July 1998 to count traffic. The student recorded 265 loaded dump trucks, belly trucks and trailers traveling Pair-A-Dice Ranch Road in 11 hours, Jones said. "Everyone else is using the granite all around the area, and we are having to pay for it as far as the dust, the noise, the bad roads," said Jones, owner of Andy Jones Lumber Company. "We've been asking that the road be paved." As a business owner, Jones said he understands that the granite pit operators have a job to do. But they should act responsibly and pave the road they use daily, said Jones, who has lived off Pair-A-Dice Ranch Road for 35 years. He suggested the operators charge the trucking companies a small fee, such as 25 cents per yard, to pay for the paving project. The DLCD ruling strengthens a case for building a bypass to route trucks and other traffic out of Jacksonville's downtown historic core, Wyntergreen said. "This just shows us even more why the northwest corridor is the best route, picking up the truck traffic by the pits and shunting it around town," Wyntergreen said. No matter how the granite is transported through -- or around -- Jacksonville, it will continue to be in demand as long as homes are being built in the Rogue Valley. Every new home has one or two dump truck loads of granite beneath it, said Wally Nokes, a retired driver with Top Rock. He used to haul decomposed granite out of the Jacksonville quarries when there were only a handful of homes along Pair-A-Dice Ranch Road. "This is a never-ending battle wherever you go between aggregate pits and homeowners," he said. "It's a necessary evil." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA