Vote on gravel pit near Marengo coming Tuesday; opponents make final push for denial by McHenry County Board

The McHenry County Board is set to decide the fate of a potential gravel pit and ready-mix plant near Marengo that many area residents oppose.

The site, located off Maple Street but near the Coral Road intersection, currently is a farm field and backs up to an Ozinga concrete operation off Route 23, but is also near residential areas.

Many of those who live by the site have been vocal in their opposition to the enterprise, and about half a dozen people voiced to the county board Thursday why the operation should be denied.

Russell Polnow, who for more than 40 years have lived in a house on Maple Street that backs up to the property on three sides, asked the board to deny the request.

He noted he’d lived there long before the property owner first sought a gravel mining permit in 2003. He said the gravel operation would be “detrimental to [residents’] health and comfort” and would diminish property values.

Tony Kyriazes, who lives across the street from the plant site, said Polnow’s property “will be devastated.”

Kyriazes urged the board to “use your mind, use your heart, use your common sense, and above all, use the law.”

He asked the board to ask themselves whether Polnow’s property value will be “substantially diminished.” Kyriazes said if the answer was yes; they must vote against the mine and the plant.

Carmine Tucci said he was two houses down from Maple Street.

“We use Maple Street not only to access our homes but to take short walks with children and our pets,” Tucci said, adding the road also is used by bike riders, school buses, mail carriers and police and fire services, which would be affected by the added truck traffic.

Tucci added the residents would not be safe or comfortable with 100 cement and gravel trucks using the only residential access to their homes.

Some on the board indicated that they were definitely a “no” vote on the ready-mix plant but were less explicit about the gravel pit, which will be handled in two different votes scheduled for Tuesday’s County Board meeting.

The proprietors, Maple Valley Materials, are asking for the county to renew a conditional use permit for the gravel mining they received many years ago but did not use, as well as for permission to run a ready-mix concrete plant.

Mark Saladin, who is a lawyer for the proprietor, said the group appreciated the neighbors' concerns. He said that the economic downturn was why the property had not been mined and that any neighbor who wanted to call about the zoning would have been told it was permitted for gravel mining.

He said the company is going to consolidate operations on the site and it will cut down on truck traffic. Saladin added the industry is “heavily regulated,” by the county, the stormwater permit process, Illinois EPA and Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Saladin concluded by saying the petitioner has met the burden for the conditional use requirements.

Tyler Wilke, another lawyer for the petitioner, said the company must maintain groundwater purity to protect the aquifer and 1,000 feet of adjacent road will be in good repair, among other requirements.

Wilke added the county also can benefit from the project with sales tax revenues that can shift the burden away from homeowners.

Some on the County Board indicated Thursday that they were opposed to the ready-mix plant but less explicit about the gravel pit.

Board member Jim Kearns, R-Huntley, said he was voting against the plant as he didn’t think the ready-mix plant was a “fit” for the road. He asked if the county could increase the height of a berm, especially around Polnow’s residence, that is intended to be a buffer between the land in question and the nearby homes.

Board member Michael Skala, R-Huntley, said he couldn’t see a way that the ready-mix plant would meet standards and he would also be a no on that. Skala was OK with weekday operating hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. but wanted to scale back Saturday’s hours to 8 a.m. to noon.

He also indicated skepticism about an allowance for emergency work, saying he felt it was a “recipe for disaster” because of questions about what constitutes an emergency. While the section of the paperwork outlines it a little, it was open to interpretation.

Skala also had an issue with a permit being granted for 20 years. He said he understood the economic conditions but that people have seen other entities move gravel in that time. He said he found it “a little disingenuous.” He added it might not have been financially viable for the petitioners, but that doesn’t mean gravel extraction as a whole hasn’t been viable.

The County Board will take two votes – one for whether to allow the gravel pit a second for the ready-mix plant. Both measures need a majority of board members at the meeting to pass.

The board will take up the vote at a meeting that starts at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the county building, 667 Ware Road in Woodstock.

“Someone needs to protect Russ and the rest of us,” Kyriazes said.