They brought their arguments to township leaders Tuesday night.
“This is farmland,” resident Daniel Brauer said. “We all moved out here to get away from all the hustle bustle noise pollution and what have you and now they want to build a gravel pit right in front of our face.”
Brauer lives across the street from the proposed site of a new gravel pit. He — along with several neighbors — showed up Tuesday night to encourage the Spring Valley Twp. Zoning Commission to recommend against changing the land’s classification.
The Zoning Commission did recommend against the gravel pit, but the township’s Board of Trustees will have the final decision.
“Regional planning voted that it wasn’t a good idea — property values, noise, dust, and it’s right against the village,” said Brett Bonecutter, Spring Valley Twp. administrator. “Just a couple people are going to benefit from it.”
The biggest concern is its proximity to the village’s main water supply. Every time the pit floods, pollution will get in there right next to the well field, Bonecutter said.
But an attorney representing the company, Coats Sand & Gravel, disagreed. Brian Barger said sand and gravel operations go where the minerals are, which is usually near a riverbed.
“All those issues are studied carefully by all the state and federal agencies that weigh in on this,” said Barger, of Eastman & Smith. ” … The geology dictates where you go. This site does have a good reserve profile.”
Brauer is not convinced.
“The potential of contaminating our water system, why would we even consider this? Why would anybody consider this?” he said. “If Spring Valley lets it go through, it’s going to be one of the biggest mistakes they ever made.”
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