The Kane County Board Development Committee Tuesday postponed for a second time a public hearing on a proposed expansion of a sand and gravel mining operation in Blackberry Township to give concerned residents more time to work through the issues with the mine owner.
The committee tabled the public hearing for 30 days at the request of Kane County Board member Drew Frasz, R-Elburn, who has encouraged nearby residents to work with the owner of the site about their concerns about the plan.
LaFarge Aggregates is seeking a special use zoning permit from Kane County to expand its sand and gravel mining operation on land zoned for farming at the southwest corner of Rowe Road and Route 47 south of Elburn in Blackberry Township.
The proposed mining expansion would occur on approximately 148.5 acres immediately north of LaFarge’s existing sand and gravel mining operation, according to company documents. LaFarge is a global producer of cement, construction aggregates and concrete.
With the postponement, the matter is now scheduled to go before the Kane County Board Development Committee at 10 a.m. Oct. 15 at the Kane County Government Center in Geneva.
Frasz held a fifth meeting with neighbors on Monday night about the proposed expansion.
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“Things are going very well but some of the issues were being discussed right up to the end of the meeting. The neighbors requested more time and LaFarge agreed,” Frasz told The Beacon-News. “We need a little bit more time for these issues to work themselves out.”
Dust that could be created by the mining expansion is one of the big issues for residents. LaFarge has agreed to put up dust monitors that would provide hourly scientific data if dust is blowing off-site, Frasz said.
“The number of units and where they are placed has to be determined,” he said.
Frasz said he has been meeting with residents for the past couple of months on the proposal. He said residents were recently given tours of the LaFarge facility.
“These meetings are over and above the county’s process,” he said.
Some 48 residents recently met for four hours to discuss their issues and concerns about the proposal, Frasz said.
Frasz said the residents formed a five-member negotiating team to work with a LaFarge representative on the plan.
“They have had two meetings with LaFarge and hammered out most of the issues,” Frasz said.
LaFarge land manager John Fay met with the residents’ negotiating team last week.
“I think we have worked out most of the issues,” Fay said.
LaFarge presented a “comprehensive” proposal and the residents discussed it Monday night, Fay said.
“I think everything is going in the right directions but there’s a couple of things they want to see finalized and we are willing to do that,” he said of tabling the public hearing.
The dust monitors are something they have agreed to, he said.
“We’ll be able to monitor the dust levels to make sure they are in compliance with the standards. The neighbors have talked about some additional monitoring and we are going to look into that,” he said.
The cost can be roughly $1,000 monthly per monitor, Fay said.
Frasz has also been negotiating with LaFarge on behalf of Blackberry Township to get a stipend for its road district for the “inconvenience” of having such a large facility in the area, he said.
“It would be a sign of goodwill,” Frasz said.
According to Frasz, one of the major issues with the plan is the potential impact on the Flinn property near the expansion site. Neighbors sympathize with the owners knowing the property has been in the Flinn family for 53 years.
The property owners are in negotiations with LaFarge concerning the project, Frasz said.
Fay addressed the Kane County Board committee this week and agreed to table the public hearing until October.
“We met with neighbors several times and sent them a letter to address their issues. It’s going above and beyond what’s recommended,” he said.
Jason Shreeram lives about a half-mile from the LaFarge sand and gravel pit, and is one of the members on the negotiating team representing residents.
“It’s good to have dialogue between the company and residents,” he said. “We have tried to amalgamate the concerns of residents which are mainly air and water quality and our property values. We have worked really hard to negotiate with LaFarge that ensures we have a path to maintain our air and water quality as well as holding our property values where they are. I think LaFarge has been receptive.”
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Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.