Consultants will verify accuracy of blasting study

Wednesday, July 20, 2005 | 8:23 a.m.

The Henderson City Council said Tuesday it's hiring two consultants to verify the accuracy of a city-sponsored study that blamed weather rather than construction blasting for damage to homes in the community.

In seeking the additional study to explain cracks in homes, the City Council delayed adopting stricter regulations on demolition contractors until Sept. 20.

Blasters and developers called for a delay as well to give them more time to suggest changes to the proposed ordinance they called unnecessary.

That delay will likely prompt some blasting contractors to rush in and seek permits before the new rules are put in place, said Councilwoman Amanda Cyphers, the lone council member to oppose a continuance. Cyphers said developers want a delay to kill the tougher ordinance, and at a minimum want to avoid the proposed steep increase in permit fees and added costs of the new regulations for the next two months, she said.

"I think they are going to be putting blasting plans on paper napkins," Cyphers said.

Despite the delay, some tighter regulations such as public notification and increased reporting and monitoring have already been imposed by city staff since May, and will remain in place, officials said.

Last month council members called on city staff not to issue any more permits for blasting within 300 feet of homes even though the city is under a court order to process permits.

Council members said there was no urgency to adopt the proposed ordinance Tuesday given that consultant Catherine T. Aimone-Martin, a professor of mining and civil engineering of New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, said blasting's not responsible for the damage to homes reported in MacDonald Highlands, Crystal Ridge and Sun City MacDonald Ranch.

Besides, the proposed ordinance doesn't change the intensity of blasts allowed to clear rock for home construction in undeveloped portions of subdivisions, officials said.

The city's decision to hire at least one additional blasting consultant to verify Aimone-Martin's work had been expected in light of ongoing complaints from residents. Her report released in early June was used by contractors and developers to validate their claims that they were not causing any damage.

Some residents, however, rejected the report and accused her of having a bias in favor of developers and contractors. Those concerns were again raised at Tuesday's council meeting by two of only a handful of residents who spoke on the proposed blasting ordinance, including from Arnie Snow, the general manager of the Sun City MacDonald Ranch Community Association.

Roma Hills resident Joseph Kirk, an aeronautical engineer and MIT graduate, said seeking the additional review is welcome because he's not convinced of her report that blames wind and temperature and humidity fluctuations for the damage. Kirk said several neighbors didn't have any cracks in walls and ceilings until the blasting started, and his swimming pool has an unexplained crack.

Kirk said a delay in adopting the ordinance can give residents more time in making the proposed ordinance even tougher. He's seeking to outlaw blasts within 300 feet of homes and reducing the limit of the intensity of ground vibrations on homes by 20 percent. But Kirk said a delay can work to the advantage of developers and blasting contractors.

"My concern is that it leads it open to further amendments to weaken it by blasting folks and contractors," Kirk said.

The proposed ordinance outlaws blasting up to 100 feet, unless permission is granted by property owners. It places greater requirements of notifying the public and requires blasting contractors submit highly detailed plans and analyze the results of the blasts. The cost of permits would increase from $306 to $1,265 for general blasting and 1,877 for close-range blasting within 300 feet.