Cary puts off vote on gravel pit
After almost two hours of public comment -- mostly negative -- on a proposed gravel pit Tuesday night, Cary Mayor Steve Lamal said the board's discussion of the controversial mine would be continued at the next board meeting on Sept. 4.
The Cary village board was scheduled to vote on whether to approve the mine Tuesday night.
Dozens of residents spoke out against the pit Tuesday, saying the mine would be nothing more than a "hole in the ground."
The proposed gravel pit has inspired a grassroots effort against the plan - with residents lining up to speak at village meetings and making T-shirts bearing anti-mine slogans.
About 85 people showed up to Tuesday's village board meeting at the Crystal Lake Holiday Inn, far fewer than the 250 who attended a June planning and zoning commission meeting on the mine.
Citing concerns over health, property values and noise, residents made a final plea to the board to reject the proposed gravel mine.
"I will move. I will not stay next to it. My home value will go down," nearby resident Robin Engals said.
A few residents spoke in support of the gravel mine.
"We need to generate some revenue," Cary resident Rick Simon said. "It's a unique opportunity that presents itself to create open space. ... I think it's a win-win deal."
Meyer Material sought to present itself as a benefit to the community.
"I think we're a good neighbor," Meyer Material attorney Thomas Zanck said. "We're very conscientious about what we do."
Meyer Material would pay the village $250,000 each year that it mines the site, or about $2.5 million over the 10-year duration of the mining operation.
At the end of the 10 years, the 102-acre mining site would become village property.
During the mining, Meyer would plant a buffer of trees and other vegetation between the mine and the Fox Trails subdivision.
The McHenry-based mining company seeks to rezone the land slated for the gravel pit from residential to agricultural.
The zoning change, combined with a conditional use permit and an amendment to an annexation agreement, would allow the company to mine the site for the next decade.