Cary zoning board rejects Meyer Co. request

Cary’s board of zoning, planning and appeals gave the thumbs-down to Meyer Material Co.’s petition for a four-year extension to its agreement with the village regarding extraction and restoration deadlines.

Meyer Material extracts and processes sand and gravel for construction. Its main address is 10500 S. Route 31 in Algonquin, but it owns 102 acres for mining across Route 31 on Cary’s west side.

The company wanted to extend operations to 2020 and allow restoration work to be completed by 2022, but zoning board members unanimously recommended denial of the petition after a public hearing Thursday night, Cary Village Administrator Chris Clark said.

About 20 residents, including some from the adjacent Fox Trails subdivision, spoke against extending those timelines, Clark said.

“The main concern (of the board) was that very little financial information was provided (by Meyer), nor production information was provided as to where they’re at and where they expect to be,” Clark said.

Meyer representative Randy Wille said the company was behind schedule in its mining plans because demand slowed down after the economic downturn. The agreement was approved June 1, 2008.

The restoration plan includes creating parkland, a bike trail system and preparing property along Route 31 for development.

Meyer hasn’t decided yet whether to proceed with a petition before the full village board, he said. “We’re still digesting this and making decisions,” Wille said.

As part of the original agreement, Meyer is funding $9.3 million in various village projects including a home value assistance program available to Fox Trails residents, Clark said. The company has been on schedule with its payments, he said.

At Thursday’s meeting, there was little discussion of making more financial incentives part of an extension of the agreement, Clark said. If the matter were to be put on the village board’s agenda, another public hearing likely would be scheduled, he said.