To Dismay Of Neighbors, Ansonia Ponders Adding ‘Rock Crushing’ To Industrial Zoning Regs

ANSONIA — To the neighbors of Burns Materials on Riverside Drive, the rules in Ansonia are as clear as day: rock crushing isn’t allowed in the city, a rule reaffirmed in court.

But, neighbors say not only is the City of Ansonia allowing rock crushing to happen at 16 Riverside Drive — it is considering changing the rules to benefit the business at the cost of the people who live nearby.

A public hearing on a zone-text amendment allowing rock crushing in heavy industrial zones with a series of conditions  is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 20 in front of the Ansonia Planning and Zoning Commission.

Corporation Counsel John Marini said the public hearing next month is an attempt to negotiate a compromise between the construction company and neighbors.

“It shouldn’t be residents versus a business. The city is saying ‘let’s figure out a compromise.’ The best way to have a compromise is to have the business and the residents weigh in,” Marini said.

The proposed zoning text amendment was written by the lawyer representing Burns Materials, who formally submitted it to the city’s P&Z Monday (Aug. 30).

Neighbors said the city hasn’t acted in good faith so far — and a lawyer representing a group of neighbors said city hall is simply attempting to kneecap two pending court cases involving the property.

“We’re frustrated. I don’t see how anyone can read city zoning and say this is legal,” said Leonard Marazzi, who lives on S. Westwood Road.

Marazzi and a group of residents in the area of north and south Westwood Road overlook Burns Materials on Riverside. They said they have been complaining to Ansonia officials for more than a year about rock crushing at Burns Materials, a 50-plus acre business that purchased 16 Riverside Drive for $2 million in 2019, according to property tax records. 

Marazzi has appeared at the last two monthly meetings of the Board of Aldermen to voice his concerns about rock crushing.

Neighbors said the rock crushing activity at Burns Materials has generated noise, vibrations, dust, diesel fumes and trucks too big for Ansonia roads. Outside of rock crushing, the business has been noisy — even in the dead of night. It’s a nuisance and a quality of life issue, two neighbors interviewed by The Valley Indy said last week.

But almost more frustrating to Marazzi and resident Chris Rogers: the response from Ansonia City Hall.

“Our complaint is with Burns because they’re doing the rock crushing, but it’s more so with the city because they are not enforcing anything,” said Rogers, who lives with his family on S. Westwood Road.

Marazzi said people on social media who tag the issue as ​“not in my backyard” are missing a key point: the city itself went after the previous owner in 2002 to stop similar activities at 16 Riverside Drive.

City In 2002: Quit It!

Records show in 2002, then-Ansonia Zoning Enforcement Officer Peter W. Crabtree issued a cease and desist order to Complete Construction, the property’s former owner. The Ansonia ZEO​’s cease and desist letter said the business was in violation of its site plan in two ways.

1. ​“Construction material recycling activities, equipment for crushing and sorting of said material, and devices for the handling, display and sale of the processed material”

And . . .

2. ​“Extraction, processing, handling, storage and sale of earth material excavated at the site.”
 
The ZEO​’s 2002 cease and desist order was upheld by the Zoning Board of Appeals. The ZBA decision was then challenged in court, where the ZBA​’s decision was upheld.

“We know that years ago, Complete Construction attempted to run the same type of operation. The state upheld our zoning regulations,” Marazzi said. ​“We’re trying to find out how, all of the sudden, this operation was deemed legal.”

City: You Can Crush Other People’s Rocks

The city, however, makes a distinction between rock crushing and recycling materials that originate from the property, which is not allowed, Marini said. Materials excavated off site and crushed at the property is permissible, even expected, in a heavy industrial zone, Marini, the corporation counsel, said.

Marini said that was the interpretation of the city’s current ZEO when he granted a permit to allow the controversial activity in February 2020 (which neighbors said they were kept in the dark about). Marini said the city stands by the ZEO​’s interpretation.

“There’s no disagreement that there’s a regulation that prohibits them from excavating — from literally crushing rocks taken out of the ground from the site,” Marini said. ​“The city’s position and the zoning officer’s position is that there’s a difference. If you take a look at this property, it is within a heavy industrial zone, doing crushing that has nothing to do with excavated rock on the site, that is allowable in a heavy industrial zone.”

In a post on The Valley Indy’s Facebook wall, Tony Levinsky, a member of the Ansonia Planning and Zoning Commission, restated the city’s position that the activities are OK since no excavation is done on site.

But that legal interpretation is ​“completely false,” said Kevin J. Curseaden, the lawyer representing the neighbors. He said the matter is painfully simple: rock crushing is not listed as an allowed use in Ansonia’s zoning code. Therefore, rock crushing isn’t allowed.

Period.

“The Ansonia regulations specifically say if something is not a use specifically spelled out in the zoning table, the use is prohibited,” Curseaden said. ​“Nowhere in the zoning regulations or in any zoning table is rock crushing allowed or mentioned as an allowed use.”

At a recent Aldermen meeting, Marini countered that argument by pointing out that the Ansonia code doesn’t specify that restaurants are allowed to cook grilled-cheese sandwiches, but the sandwiches are allowed.

Curseaden called the comparison ridiculous.

“There is a big difference between cooking grilled cheese and rock crushing. A restaurant is allowed in the City of Ansonia. Rock crushing is not allowed anywhere in the City of Ansonia,” Curseaden said.

Adding Words Because Why?

Curseaden and Marazzi both pointed out that if City Hall truly believed rock crushing was allowed in the industrial zone, there would be no need to consider adding the phrase ​“rock crushing” to the zoning code. Yet that is exactly what the Sept. 20 public hearing is about, they said.

“They are saying it’s allowed. They know that is a false argument, so they are changing the regs to allow it. That way they can say our legal arguments against it are now moot,” Curseaden said.

Currently the neighbors have two appeals pending in court connected to actions taken by the Ansonia Board of Appeals regarding rock crushing at Burns Materials. 

Curseaden said the neighbors, once they found out the city had issued a permit to Burns, tried to appeal that decision to the ZBA. 

But they were steamrolled by Marini, and not allowed to present their side, Curseaden said. Meeting minutes from October 2020 have Marini immediately telling the board to dismiss or take no action on the matter.

Marini told The Valley Indy that procedurally, Curseaden was late in bringing his appeal so the ZBA had no jurisdiction.

But the neighbors who wanted to speak — and present a petition with 125 signatures — said the ZBA process was a giant red flag.

Marazzi said the city has attempted to paint itself as the good guy at Aldermen meetings when asked about the issue.

“We have never once spoken with Marini,” Marazzi said. ​“We haven’t spoken to (ZEO) Blackwell in over a year. We call the mayor’s office. No response. What they’re putting out there, that the city is working hand-in-hand with neighbors, that’s not true at all.”

Curseaden said that based on the city’s actions so far, he expects the city’s planning and zoning commission to adopt the new zoning language submitted by Burns’ lawyer and allow rock crushing in industrial zones. He predicted doing so would have unintended effects, and that the city could see rock-crushing operations elsewhere.

“This is all because, and this is my opinion, someone in the city, probably the mayor, promised Burns Construction that this use would be allowed in the city if they purchased the property. That is the only logical explanation, because the city has gone out of their way to stifle us,” Curseaden said.

Marini: This Is The Best Way To Handle Tough Issue

But Marini said he was not aware of any rock crushing discussions prior to Burns setting up shop in Ansonia.

He said next month’s public hearing is the best chance for the public to give opinions on the issue.

Marini said that without a zoning text change, Burns is free to do rock crushing at will, provided they’re not excavating the stuff from their own grounds. The neighbors will likely lose the two legal appeals pending against the Ansonia ZBA, he said.

“Say there is no text amendment. We go to court, and the city will make its case. And if the city is successful, and we believe it will be, there will be no additional regulations. There will be no clarification. That activity will simply be allowed to be conducted, from morning to night,” Marini said.

The city’s corporation counsel said heavy industrial zones have traditionally been loud.

“Years ago, decades ago, this zone was allowed,” he said. ​“The zone was crushingly loud to a point where it would be unbelievable to somebody today. But that’s what the area was zoned for, and that is, in fact, what created the entire town. Now you have this use that stands out like a sore thumb because the industrial zone is coming back to life. We get it, and we get the impact to the neighbors. The mayor is very sensitive to that, which is why it was suggested to Burns attorney, ​‘Look, maybe there is a middle ground here’,” Marini said. 

The following language is proposed to be added to the city’s zoning regulations. A public hearing is scheduled for Sept. 20, 2021.

1. Rock crushing shall only be allowed on an HI District property that is not less than ten (10) acres in size.

2. Only rock, stone or road excavated material which has been brought to the property and, once crushed, to be removed from the property and used at another location shall be allowed to be crushed.

3. Rock crushing activities shall be allowed Monday to Friday from 7am – 7pm. There shall be no rock crushing activity on Saturday, Sunday or, any legal holiday.

4. For any HI Zone which abuts a residential zone, all rock crushing equipment and activity shall be at least 150 feet from the boundary with the residential district.

5. All equipment utilized for rock crushing shall be certified by the property owner to the Planning and Zoning Commission to be in good working order, with maintenance records available upon request by the zoning enforcement officer or his designee.

6. Upon installation of any rock crushing equipment, including any upgrade to the equipment, the property owner shall conduct a base line noise level test, which test results shall be provided to the Planning and Zoning Commission. Testing shall occur within 50 feet of the equipment, at the boundary of any adjacent residential property and at any street which abuts the property.

7. The property owner shall monitor noise levels on a regular basis and shall comply with all Noise Ordinance requirements as set forth in the Code of Ordinances of the City of Ansonia (Sects.17 – 11 to 17 – 22 inclusive).

8. The property owner shall provide for adequate dust mitigation from any rock crushing activity. The property owner shall, as part of the site review, provide to the zoning enforcement officer a written copy of the dust mitigation program to be utilized which shall include, but not be limited to, the use of water and water spray to eliminate dust and stone particle debris.