Apr 12, 2015 3 min read

The Jefferson-Morgan Multi-Municipal Zoning Hearing Board recently denied a special exception to a company that wanted to establish a water filling station on Route 188 near Jefferson for tanker trucks serving the natural gas industry.

We believe the board made the correct decision.

Bell’s Bridge LLP proposed building the station just west of Jefferson in an area zoned rural residential. Under the zoning ordinance, mineral extraction support services are permitted in that zone with the granting of a special exception.

Many residents opposed the plan, arguing the station would be better suited to an area zoned for industry and that its location would present a hazard for traffic on Route 188.

The property is about 400 yards from the entrance to Jefferson-Morgan High School and, opponents maintained, in an area where a driver on Route 188 would have limited distance to stop when first seeing a truck leaving the site.

Bell’s Bridge maintained the station would actually help reduce the number of trucks passing through Jefferson.

Trucks that haul water on Route 188 to well sites west of Jefferson from water filling stations to the east in Dry Tavern and Fredericktown would no longer have to pass through Jefferson or in front of the school.

Attempting to address residents’ concerns, Bell’s Bridge also proposed a number of conditions, agreeing to lease the site to only one company, post “truck entrance” signs on Route 188 and prohibit trucks from using the site at the beginning and end of the school day.

The company, in addition, received a highway occupancy permit from the state Department of Transportation.

The granting of the permit, the company said, indicated traffic on Route 188 had adequate distance to stop for trucks leaving the site.

The zoning board’s recent decision was the second it made in the case. It also denied the special exception in June.

However, Bell’s Bridge appealed and Greene County Court remanded the case back to the board for a new hearing.

During the hearings, residents spoke about the poor location of the site in terms of the limited distance motorists traveling from Jefferson would have to stop for a truck entering the highway from the station.

They also testified about problems that now exist because of the many trucks that use the road, as well as motorists who regularly speed or pass illegally on the highway.

Alan Rafail, a retired teacher and a driving instructor at Jefferson-Morgan High School, spoke of the inexperience of student drivers.

If a student approaching the site would take his eyes off the road, even for a second just to check a text from home, it could result in a crash, he said.

At one of the hearings, David Pollock, a partner in Bell’s Bridge, argued those who cited problems with traffic on the highway all spoke of instances in which drivers failed to abide by traffic laws.

If everyone followed the law, the station would not pose a safety concern, he said.

We believe that’s true.

If drivers followed the traffic laws, there would not be a problem. Unfortunately, many don’t.