A plan to expand a rock quarry in north Tulsa one step closer to happening

TULSA, Okla. — Plans to expand a quarry in north Tulsa took another small step forward Wednesday.

Proposals to rezone an area just south of Owasso near Hwy 169 and East 56th Street North were heard before the Tulsa planning commission.

The plans call to rezone the area from agricultural to industrial.

Greenhill Properties LLC, who is behind the application, said the area is an important resource for limestone.

“What comes from it, is gravel that we put in cement, gravel that we put in road bases, gravel that goes in Home foundations,” said David Charney, who spoke at the meeting. “If we didn’t have this blessed natural resource right here, we’d have to truck it in from … the other side of Pryor, it was upping the cost by tripling.”

Fourteen people spoke out against the plan though, including 9-year-old, Avery Kelly whose grandparents live nearby.

Avery Kelly, another person who spoke at the meeting, said the trucks are making holes in the roads where they can’t drive on it.

Other people who spoke said they were concerned about the impact on the homes and about their health due to the dust.

There were also calls for more studies to be done on the effects of quarrying.

The commission denied two agenda items related to the rezoning in a comprehensive plan but passed three rezoning requests.

People at the meeting told FOX23 they weren’t happy but said the fight will go on.

“Extremely disappointed and I, we, have worked very hard over the past several months to provide information, to provide evidence, to let them know what our concerns and what our true problems are, and I just think today, it just felt like we weren’t listened to,” said Pamela Kirk, who spoke at the meeting.

“I think this is a small step halfway towards the right direction because we didn’t get some of them that didn’t approve, but then some of them were, so a little mixed,” said Ashley Parks.

“Now they have ruled that our property doesn’t mean anything to them, that our lives don’t mean anything to them, that the environment doesn’t mean anything to them,” said Robert Jerome. “They would rather just mine that rock quarry.”

The passing of the three rezoning items does not designate mining.

The city council will now hear the plans.

The residents say they’ll continue to push back against the plans.

A representative for Greenhill Properties declined to comment after the meeting.