Town Or Monroe v. Renz

698 A.2d 328 (1997)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

D purchased a parcel of land located in a residential zone in Monroe (P). The property has been used continuously for sand and gravel excavation since the 1940s, and its use as such constitutes a valid prior nonconforming use with respect to the subsequently enacted zoning regulations that established the area as a two-acre residential zone. In 1988 D installed a rock crusher. Blasting was conducted once a month to feed the crushing plant. Between blasts, drilling machines constantly drilled into rock formations in preparation for the next blast. Each blast required up to 200 holes fifty feet deep that were packed with up to 28,000 pounds of explosives. The blasting created sheer rock cliffs between sixty and 100 feet in height. P issued a cease and desist order. From a number of confrontations in court and at the zoning commission, the present action for a permanent injunction was decided in P's favor.