"If indeed it is doing this much damage, it better cease, taking into consideration the coal mines those homes are built over," said Trustee Fred Hanley of Elmwood Drive.

City Stone products of Youngstown is mining sandstone along state Route 7 in Brookfield. The mining operation is on 70 acres in the center of an area known as Kermont Heights, between Route 7, Chestnut Ridge Road, Cherry Street and Thomas Road in Brookfield and Hubbard.

Hanley believes at least seven old coal mines are under Kermont Heights.

In 1998, Taylor Winfield Corp., which has a plant on Thomas Road was denied a zoning change to build a stamping plant because vibrations from the operation could damage homes in the area, Hanley said. In 1996, he said, ground behind Taylor Winfield collapsed, revealing a 103-foot mine shaft. The site is about half a mile south of the blasting area.

But City Stone is working just across the line in Brookfield, where there is no zoning. The company needed only to get a state permit for surface mining.

According to a company spokesperson, City Stone plans to mine sandstone aggregate there for three to five years.

That time frame worries Hanley and inspired Hubbard Township officials to complain to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, which grants mining permits.

The complaint asks the state if a new permit must be issued because the mining is approaching Hubbard Township and, if so, if there is a public comment provision.

Since April, Hanley said, trustees have heard from "at least 20 homes and businesses that have filed written and verbal complaints about the blasting" and more calls have been coming in.

Officials from Hubbard and Brookfield townships teamed to file a recent complaint to the state Department of Transportation about possible damage to Route 7 from the blasting and heavy trucks hauling stone, Hanley said.

Trustees of Brookfield and Hubbard townships ask that those with structural damage concerns report it. The numbers for their municipal buildings are (330) 448-4044 and (330) 534-1411 respectively.