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Many Carolina Trace residents were alerted last week by this letter to a proposal to place a rock quarry near the gated subdivision.

Applicants who wanted to place a rock quarry on a large piece of land across N.C. Highway 87 from the Carolina Trace subdivision withdrew their petition minutes before the start of Tuesday’s 7 p.m. Sanford City Council meeting, sources tell the Rant.

A standing room-only crowd of Trace residents and environmental activists had filled the council chambers ahead of the meeting, possibly due to the circulation of a flyer among Trace residents alerting them to plans for the placement of the quarry.

While Carolina Trace is not inside the Sanford city limits, the location of the proposed rock quarry is (subscription required).

Sources tell the Rant that more than 100 activists showed up Tuesday night to express their disapproval of the plan and that the chairman of the Sanford Planning Board announced to the crowd that the applicants had withdrawn their petition just prior to the meeting’s start. Many of the attendees left before things got under way.