OWENSBORO, KY (WFIE) -
The result of Thursday night's Planning Commission meeting was the first of its kind in Owensboro.
The question the Owensboro Metropolitan Planning Commission faced Thursday night was whether or not to rezone 385 acres in the Pleasant Ridge area so it can be strip mined for coal.
"So I don't have a problem now. No leaking and then they come do their preblast survey. Are they going to hear? I mean how are they going to know?" asked Scott Blanford who's worried the coal mine will damage property.
"You're not going to trust us. You're not sure who we are, but I promise you we're men of our word," said Tim Rhye of Western Kentucky Minerals.
When the commission counted the votes, they saw five hands to reject the rezoning application and four approving the zoning change.
The problem is ten people voted. One vote was missed for approving the application. So after a revote, there was a tie.
"There was a lot of confusion because apparently this commission has never been in that situation before," said Tony Isbill, who is against the coal mine.
A tie means the commission has 30 days to revote and break the tie or just not make a recommendation and the decision will be left to the fiscal court.
"Disappointed. I felt like there was a lot of compelling evidence to support not doing the rezoning," stated Isbill.
"I think both sides did well. There were some mixed emotions," said Tony Lanham of Western Kentucky Minerals.
"We thought we'd have some type of solution and we don't. We're going to have to wait," said Isbill.
The commission will meet again on March 8th. If all members aren't present, they will not vote and it will be handed over to fiscal court.
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