News : Supervisors hear supporters, opponents on proposed 24th Ave. Dr. sand pit

The Benton County Board of Supervisors will spend the next two weeks pondering the information and comments they received during a two-hour meeting on a request for a land use change for Coots Materials on Tuesday morning.

Dave Coots discussed his proposal to create a sand pit – a sand and gravel dredging operation – on 24th Avenue Drive, about one mile north of Highway 150.

Coots told the supervisors that there is 75-80 years' worth of material in the 80-acre plot just east of the Cedar River.

In the sometimes contentious meeting, several residents who live near the proposed sand pit expressed concerns and/or objections.

“This will turn our lives around,” said Rodney Fisher, whose house is closest to the area. “That's my home. That's my back yard.”

Fisher said he had no hard feelings for Coots, and he said he appreciates what Coots Materials is doing for the community. But he asked, “Is there a spot that would be better suited? Is there another option we can pursue?”

Coots replied, “We have checked other options that didn't work out. This is the best we have found.”

The business plans to put the dredging operation as far west of the road as possible – 1,400 feet or more from Fisher's property.

Other members of the Fisher family told the supervisors that they are concerned that putting the sand pit so close to the land where they grew up would disturb their quality of life and the quiet nature of the area.

Neighbors shared other concerns, including traffic safety, the possibility of blowing sand, and the impact of exhaust from diesel engines.

One neighbor said he was likely to hear the annoying loud beeps that large equipment makes when backing up – Coots explained that that feature is an OSHA requirement that he cannot ignore.

Other neighbors including Brian Youngblut, expressed concerns that the sand pit would lower their property values by up to 25 percent.

Youngblut, who lives in the nearby Northfield Ranch subdivision, told Coots that is was Coots' responsibility to prove that the project would not adversely affect property values. Fisher told the supervisors that a real estate agent told him that the project could cause a 25 percent drop in his property value. The proposed area is not visible from the subdivision, which is only accessible from Highway 150.

Coots replied that several people have built nice homes near his other quarries.

The meeting had been moved to the upstairs courtroom to accommodate the 60 or so people who gathered to hear and share their views on the proposed site.

As the discussion began, Coots describing the history of Coots Materials, which employees 40 people.

“We do things right,” said Coots, adding that his company offers good wages and benefits to its employees.

The company provides everything from sand for children’s sandboxes to concrete and sand for housing and street construction, he said.

Echoing Coots’ comments was a letter from Benton Development Group Director Emily Upah and President Marlyn Jorgensen.

That letter said that Coots Materials is directly responsible for 80 jobs in the community, and that materials provided by the companies like Coots are important in the manufacturing of building blocks, paper, glass, medicines, fertilizer, concrete, shingles and many household products, as well as sand and gravel for roads and construction projects.

Another person who spoke in favor of the project was Scott Ellingson, the area manager of TCC (Twin Cities Concrete).

TCC has been located next door to the Coots office on West D Street in Vinton for approximately 20 years. Ellingson told the supervisors that Coots is very important to its Vinton operation.

“We purchase sand, gravel and other products from Coots,” said Ellingson. “They offer an aggregate quality not found in other places in Iowa.”

In addition to the quality products, Ellingson said he simply enjoys doing business with Coots.

“We like to do business with family-owned companies,” he said. “Dave has been an outstanding neighbor to us. Every time we have wanted to do something to better our location he is always willing to say ‘Yes.’”

Safety, road quality concerns

The first person to speak in opposition to the project was Jennifer Zahradnik. The Belle Plaine lawyer told the supervisors that neighbors had asked her to speak on their behalf.

The area, she said, includes bridges that have been deemed “structurally deficient” by Iowa DOT standards.

While traffic surveys on the gravel of 24th Ave. Drive have counted an average of 170 vehicles in that area, Zahradnik said that trucks using the proposed sand pit would use the busy 150 intersection, which has a traffic count of 3,300 vehicles per day.

That corner, she said, has been the site of many collisions between vehicles. Also she said, disturbing the area near the river could disrupt the deer in that area, causing more vehicle collisions with the animals.

Zahradnik is also involved in another ongoing land use controversy in that area; her lawsuit against the Benton County Board of Adjustment regarding the approval of Dean Brown’s Red Shed Auto Repair is pending in District Court.

Coots replied that his company trucks have not been involved in collisions with other vehicles for the past 50 years. He said that with 13 trucks per day expected at the site, the vehicles would be on the road approximately 5 minutes each day.

Jeff Geiger, who owns property across the street and runs a farm auction there twice each year, said he also had traffic concerns.

Steve Henry, who lives near the current Coots sand pit west of the Cedar River, said he cannot hear the dredging operation from his house, which is about 1,460 feet away. Also he said, the traffic from trucks is “not bad,” although he lives on one of the county’s busiest gravel roads.

Discussion set for April 26

The supervisors all said they need time to review this information before making a decision. They will address the issue again during the Tuesday, April 26 meeting.

Supervisor Todd Wiley said that the Comprehensive Plan governing land use in Benton County is 480-pages long. He said he has read parts of that document, but not all of it, although he said he will be reading it all in the near future.

The growing number of residences built in rural areas is part of the issue, Wiley said, adding that it may be time for the county to revisit its policy and perhaps consider some kind of zoning ordinance.

“Clearly this is becoming problematic,” Wiley said. “People shudder at county zoning, but we may be able to side step some of these conflicting operations between residential and commercial properties,” he said.