Minutes of the regular meeting of the Georgetown Township Mineral Mining Board, held Monday, March 6, 2006

 

Meeting called to order by Chairman Stanley Sterk at 7:30 p.m.

 

Members Present:         Stanley Sterk, Del South, David Poskey, Greg Honderd, Mannette Minier

Members Absent:         none

 

#060306-01 – Agenda for the Mineral Mining Board meeting held on March 6, 2006

 

Moved by Greg Honderd, seconded by Del South, to approve the agenda as submitted.

 

MOTION CARRIED.

 

#060306-02 - Minutes of the Mineral Mining Board meeting held on February 6, 2005

 

Moved by Del South, seconded by David Poskey, to approve the minutes of February 6, 2006, as submitted.

 

MOTION CARRIED.

 

#060306-03 - Public Hearing Mineral Mining License Applications-(ML0201) J & D

Investors LLC-RENEWAL

 

The chairman opened the public hearing.

 

Dan Dykstra, Dykstra Construction, represented the applicant and presented the request.  He stated the following.  He works for J & D Investments and manages the mining operation.  The objects listed in the mining report are not on the mining site, but rather are irrigation pipes and bee hives on the neighboring site used in a farming operation.  The mining operation is not complete and things have slowed down because the housing marking is slow.  The signs are kept up and the road has been kept paved and cleaned to keep dust under control.  No complaints have been received regarding the operation.

 

The chairman closed the public hearing.

 

The mining official presented a report and noted that the application is for a renewal for a mining license to continue mining at an existing operation located at the southeast corner of 40th Ave. and Port Sheldon.  The application had previous been reviewed by the former mining official.  The operation has been conducted since the initial license was approved on June 17, 2002.  It expires June 30, 2006 because Sec. Sec. 26-74 states that licenses expire on June 30 of the year which occurs not more than five years following the date of issuance.  The reclamation plan is for the site to be a single family residential development, but no plat approvals are implied by approval of the reclamation plan.  She also noted that there had been no complaints about the operation and the items listed in the report were not located on the mining site.  She recommended that conditions of approval be added to reinforce the requirements of the ordinance.

 

Moved by Del South, seconded by Greg Honderd, to approve a Mineral Mining License application for RENEWAL for (ML0201) J&D Investors LLC, to be effective until June 30, 2010 (as per Sec. 26-74 to expire on June 30 of the year which occurs not more than five years following the date of issuance),  for P.P.# 70-14-20-300-054, -002, -040, -056, -065 and -068, located at 6610 40th Ave., 6750 40th Ave., 6510 40th Ave., 6601 36th Ave., and on Port Sheldon, in a (LDR) Low Density Residential District, as shown with information provided on site plans dated 5-28-02 which had been provided for the initial mining license application submittal materials, and with the following conditions:

·        All terms and conditions as presented with the initial application materials remain in effect;

·        Hours of operation are limited to 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Saturday, and no Sundays or holidays (as stipulated in the narrative);

·        The haul route is off Port Sheldon, as approved in the original license;

·        No future residential development approvals are implied by the approval of the proposed residential reclamation plan;

·        All berms are to be maintained;

·        All entrances and exits to the site shall be securely locked during hours when mining operations are not permitted on the site.

·        All vehicles used to transport excavated material shall be loaded in a manner so that the material cannot be unintentionally discharged from the vehicle. Vehicles shall be cleaned of all material not in the load-bed prior to entering the public streets.  If materials excavated from the site are deposited or spilled upon the public roadway, it shall be the responsibility of the licensee, without requiring any action or request by the township, to immediately remove the spilled or deposited material;

·        A licensee shall comply with all soil erosion, wetlands and floodplain rules and regulations of the State of Michigan, Ottawa County and the township;

·        Fueling of vehicles on any site shall comply with statutes, rules and regulations enforced and implemented by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.

 

MOTION CARRIED.

 

#060306-04 - (ML0602) DeWent Gravel    

 

Todd Stuive, Exxel Engineering, represented the applicant and presented the request.  Cheryl Zwageman, DeWent Gravel, was also in attendance.  Todd Stuive stated the following.  The site has been mined in the past put has been inactive for the past five years.  They are ready to complete the mining operation and develop the site into an industrial plat.  A 6.6 acre portion will be cut and the balance filled.  There is an existing retention pond for Marjo Estates that was intended to be temporary with on outlet on Roger Dr.  There is a ridge on the adjacent property which is owned by Allied Waste in Houston, Texas.  As per the screening requirement in the residential district, a berm is located in the western portion for the condos.  There is an existing fence and pine trees.  The screening is adequate along the western portion of the north property line.  If they do not get the cooperation of the adjacent property owners, they will fall back on Plan B which shows the 50 foot mining setback from the property line to the east.

 

The chairman opened the public hearing.  No one was present to speak on this topic.

 

Moved by Greg Honderd, seconded by David Poskey, to close the public hearing.

 

MOTION CARRIED.

 

The mining official presented a report and the Report of Township Engineer was also presented.  The application is for a mining license to mine 6.6 acres on a 23.5 acre site east of 28th Ave. and north of Port Sheldon.  Mining has previously been conducted on the site; however, no mining license or special use approval were ever granted since the mining occurred years ago.  The site is bordered on the west and north by residential districts and to the south and east by industrial district.  The plan is to excavate sand and gravel.  About half of the material will be used on the site to create elevations for the proposed industrial development and the other half will be transported to the mining site at 1600 Chicago Dr. for processing.  The duration will be two to three years.  The haul route will be south on Marcan Ave., east on Wilshere, north on Roger Dr., east on Pine Ridge Dr., north on 18th Ave. and east on DeWent, which will avoid travel on Chicago Dr.  The reclamation plan shows an industrial development with 16 lots.  The site would have to be developed as a plat because the parcel would not be allowed to have enough splits for 16 lots.  Any approval for the mining license should be contingent upon further Township approvals for the development outlined in the reclamation plan.

 

The applicant was willing to abide by all proposed conditions except that they stated that the privacy fence was not needed along the western portion of the north property line because the house are hardly visible and screening already exists.  Also, it was a significant expense for not much screening.

 

It was noted that the hill is significant and the applicant agreed to put up the fence if the Township received complaints.

 

Greg Honderd said that there is some activity when final grading is done for a plat and no screening is required.  He also said that the wind direction should not affect the houses located in that area.

 

Moved by Mannette Minier, seconded by Del South, to approve a Mineral Mining License for (ML0602) for DeWent Gravel, to be effective until June 30, 2010 (as per Sec. 26-74 to expire on June 30 of the year which occurs not more than five years following the date of issuance), as shown on the materials submitted with the application including the operation plan, reclamation plan and site plan dated 2-8-06, for P.P. # 70-14-21-400-035, (and 70-14-22-344-007 and 70-14-22-344-003)  based on compliance with the mining ordinance and with the following conditions:

·        Hours of operation be limited to 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Saturday, and no Sundays or holidays (as stipulated in the narrative);

·        The haul route is south on Marcan Ave., east on Wilshere Dr., north on Roger Dr., east on Pine Ridge Dr., north on 18th Ave. and east on DeWent Dr. to the processing plant.  All roads within the site are to be maintained in a manner that controls dust and prevents debris from being carried onto public streets;

·        All berms are to be maintained;

·        No future industrial plat development approvals are implied by the approval of this reclamation plan and the applicant must obtain approval as required by all other Township ordinances for this future industrial development (too many splits and must be platted);

·        Approval from the Ottawa County Road Commission is provided prior to mining operations commencing.

·        All entrances and exits to the site shall be securely locked during hours when mining operations are not permitted on the site.

·        All vehicles used to transport excavated material shall be loaded in a manner so that the material cannot be unintentionally discharged from the vehicle. Vehicles shall be cleaned of all material not in the load-bed prior to entering the public streets.  If materials excavated from the site are deposited or spilled upon the public roadway, it shall be the responsibility of the licensee, without requiring any action or request by the township, to immediately remove the spilled or deposited material;

·        A licensee shall comply with all soil erosion, wetlands and floodplain rules and regulations of the State of Michigan, Ottawa County and the township;

·        Fueling of vehicles on any site shall comply with statutes, rules and regulations enforced and implemented by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality; and

·        Compliance with all the elements of the Township Engineer’s review except that a privacy fence would not be required unless the Township receives complaints from the houses in the area.

·        The site would be mined according to the site plan identified as Plan B unless and until approval is received from the adjacent property owners (and 70-14-22-344-007 and 70-14-22-344-003).

 

MOTION CARRIED.

 

#060306-05 – Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 8:55 p.m.