Following a lengthy public hearing on a request from Hardrives, Inc. for an Interim Use Permit (IUP) for a gravel mining operation in Palmer Township Thursday night, the Sherburne County Planning and Advisory Board (PAB) voted unanimously to table action on the matter until it’s next regular meeting at 6 p.m. March 19 in the county board room at the Sherburne County Government Center in Elk River.

 

Action on a second IUP request from Hardrives, Inc. to erect a portable asphalt plant in the same gravel pit on property owned by Shirley Wipper was also tabled until the next regular meeting. During the procedural discussion, Asst. Sherburne County Atty. Timothy Sime stated  the board would be better advised to table action on recommendations for both permit requests, rather than making any presentation to the full county board in advance of their March 3 regular meeting.

 

PAB Chairman Bryan Lawrence reminded the audience that the board is an advisory body which passes on recommendations to the full county board for action, and does not itself have regulatory authority in matters such as the permit requests being considered.

 

During the presentation of the gravel mining permit details, Sherburne County Zoning Specialist Marc Schneider read a lengthy list of concerns that had been raised by residents in regard to the gravel mining operation, including potential lowering of property values in nearby homes, effects on the water table and shallow wells, dust and noise from plant operations, damage to township roads not built to handle heavy truck traffic and dangers to pedestrians due to heavy truck traffic.

 

With the gravel pit site having been a dumping ground many years ago, Sherburne County Hazardous Waste specialist David Lucas also raised questions as to the current contents of the site, according to County Planner Jon Sevold.  An environmental Phase One assessment may prove necessary to determine the contents of the site before any gravel mining permits can be approved, Schneider said.

 

A list of stipulations included in a negative comment approved by the Palmer Township Board at their February meeting was also read into the record, which listed air, water and noise pollution as problems from the operation, called for no truck traffic on 42nd st., no Saturday or Sunday operations, plants to be operated between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, rebuilding of township roads damaged by the operation and a rejection of the permit for the asphalt plant.  Schneider also said the county had received 11 letters and a number of e-mails from Palmer residents opposed to the operation.

 

A large group of Palmer residents were in the board room Thursday night, and a number of those testified in opposition to the permit requests.  Palmer Chairman Mike Ganz, who was unable to attend the town board meeting earlier in the month, told the PAB that he was a long-time resident of the area, and that he understood that practices in both agriculture and business had changed over time.  He also hoped that the “site best suited” to both residents and the construction company could be found.

 

Other Palmer residents who had voiced strong opposition at the township meeting also spoke at the Thursday hearing, including Loren Larson, Dee Schendzielos and Tom Dahle, who stated the project would only bring harm to the community and urged the company to withdraw the permit requests.  Russ Pekarek played a recording of birdsong to illustrate his point regarding the peaceful mornings he and his wife enjoy now on their porch at sunrise, followed by a recording of construction equipment at work that he said will replace those sounds as long as the plant is in operation nearby.

 

Realtor Kevin Robak told the board the presence of an asphalt plant would be an “immediate deal breaker” for potential buyers in Palmer, and would decrease existing property values by as much as 25 per cent.

 

Kevin Gannon appeared before the board representing Hardrives, Inc., and said  his firm will soon be feeling time pressure to begin the construction project on Hwy 10 for which the Palmer plant is the most economically feasible.  Gannon said that the five-year lease on the Palmer property would include gravel mining on 30 acres of the site, with an additional 10 acres that could be used if a new permit was applied for. He also said the asphalt plant would be located in Palmer for an estimated 25 days before it was moved to a new location.  Gravel mining would continue at the site, he said, and material would be sold to other contractors from that site.  The asphalt plant could also be moved back to the Palmer site at some future date.

 

Gannon also said his firm needs to know how to proceed with the operation at this point, and that it would pay for an outside firm to conduct the environmental review of the site.

 

The recommendations and township stipulations on the IUP for the asphalt plant will be read into the record at the March 19 PAB meeting, and the public hearing on the matter stands in recess until then.  Neither of the permit requests will come before the county board at the March 3 regular meeting, and the PAB recommendation will not be forwarded until April.