Owasso Residents Resist Rock Quarry Expansion Proposal

People in an Owasso neighborhood are upset because a nearby rock quarry plans to expand closer to their homes.

A proposal submitted to the Tulsa Planning Commission would extend the quarry along Highway 169 across 56th Street North.

Residents in Owasso are sharing their opposition saying they're concerned about wildlife, poor road conditions, and damage to their homes.

They said they hear several explosions nearly every day.

"From a one to ten, that blast was probably like a two,” resident Ashley Parks said.

Parks lives just a few hundred yards away from the quarry where clouds of dust, loud sirens, and explosions are daily expectations.

"My pictures are crooked all the time, constantly. I would say weekly I have to go rearrange all my pictures and all the frames and make them straight again,” Parks said.

Cindy Holt lives off 86th Street North, which is just a couple of miles away. Still, she said the current quarry affects her home.

"Our house shakes. We hear it,” Holt said. Holt said it's not just her home she's worried about.

"You're talking about disturbance of ecosystem. You're talking about the wildlife is going to be displaced,” Holt said.

Residents said they've seen eagles flying and nesting in the planned zoning area and are worried nests could be destroyed.

Tulsa Planning Office Director Susan Miller said this is something they would take into consideration

"Environmental conditions, sometimes, absolutely, that could be taken into account. This particular area, I'm not familiar with those,” Miller said.

Miller said the original proposal was revised by developers due to resident's concerns. The new proposal stops west of Bird Creek. However, the proposal south of 56th St. North remains the same.

"That's still too close. I mean that's 56th Street North. Right now, we're at 76th Street North. Two miles and we already feel those blasts from 46th Street North,” Holt said.

We contacted the attorney for Greenhill Properties, which owns the land the quarry is on. He declined to comment at this time.

There was a meeting for public input scheduled for April 19 at Tulsa's City Hall. That meeting has been rescheduled for May 17.