Douglas County has a new permitted gravel pit. The 97-acre aggregate mine, operated by Pazdernik Properties LLC, will be in a Rural Residential zone just off County Road 82 on the east side of Garfield in LaGrand Township. The full county board approved the conditional use permit for the mine at its September 1 meeting, after making what’s called a negative declaration on the environmental review of the project.
The clearly defined public process began July 14 with an informational meeting, held by the Planning Advisory Commission. This meeting provided an opportunity for the public to learn about the project and the required environmental review. It also kicked off the required 30-day written public comment period on the Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW).
The county received three written comments during the 30 days, which ended on August 14. On August 25, the Planning Advisory Commission met again. It’s made up of six members including a county commissioner. After consideration of the comments received, and the responses provided by applicants, county and state staff, and others, the members decided to recommend to the Douglas County Board that no further environmental study was needed for the county to make an informed decision on the project. This action allowed consideration of the Conditional Use Permit which provided another opportunity for public input.
David Geddes, who lived near a gravel pit owned and operated by the Pazderniks, spoke about his opposition to approval for this new application. He said this operation will not meet the intent of the county’s Comprehensive Plan. He said it will not meet the plan’s goal of “orderly growth by protecting homes and property from harmful and incompatible uses on neighboring properties”. He discussed noise, home value depreciation, and the concern of trucks crossing over the Central Lakes bike trail.
A resident on 39th Avenue which borders the proposed gravel pit said he would not have bought his home if he’d known a gravel pit could one day be located so close. Other neighbors shared their support for the project and great confidence in the owners to operate it safely and within the many proposed conditions outlined in the staff’s recommendations. Those conditions include various requirements the proposed operation must meet, such as hours of operation, for example, which are seven a.m. to seven p.m. Monday through Friday.
Land and Resource Management Director Dave Rush noted comments received from state agencies and residents during the EAW process. One concern by the DNR involved gravel and mud “tracked onto the Central Lakes Trail by project activities, which would create hazards for cyclists, roller bladers, wheelchair users and others.” PAC members told the applicants they will be expected to keep the trail clean at all times. The applicants assured those attending the meeting they would follow all the requirements. Based on the information gathered through the EAW process, and public comments at the hearing, the PAC unanimously recommended to the county board that the gravel mine permit be approved with the numerous conditions controlling the operation.
At the September 1 regular board meeting, the county commissioners first considered the recommendation of the PAC to make a negative declaration on the Environmental Assessment Worksheet. Based on the information included in the EAW, the comments that were received, and the responses by the applicants and county staff, the commissioners agreed with the PAC recommendation and unanimously decided that no further environmental review of the project was necessary. This action enabled the commissioners to consider the conditional use permit allowing the creation of the gravel mine.
Before voting to approve the permit, commissioners reviewed several of the concerns and Board Chair Shane Schmidt reiterated the requirement that only 10 acres at a time would be mined and the land reclaimed with topsoil and trees before the next 10 acres could be used.