Planning commission approves Central Specialties' temporary crushing and HMA plant with road-use, safety and dust conditions

The Yankton County Planning and Zoning Commission approved a conditional use permit for Central Specialties Inc. to operate a temporary portable crushing and hot‑mix asphalt (HMA) plant near U.S. Highway 81, adding conditions including a road‑haul agreement and traffic‑safety measures.

Commissioners voted 5‑2 to approve the permit after hearing staff description of the application, testimony from the applicant's representative and a lengthy public comment period that focused on truck traffic, stop‑sign safety and dust control.

Commissioners said the permit will allow a temporary crushing and HMA plant to support road construction near U.S. Highway 81. The application lists an E‑911 address and a site near Highway 81 and describes the facility as a temporary portable crushing and HMA plant to serve highway work. Commissioners and staff said the application anticipates up to 20 round trips per hour during peak operation.

Resident Richard Bellick told the commission he lives at the corner near the gravel pit entrance and described repeated safety problems with trucks leaving the site. "Jake breaks absolutely are annoying as hell," Bellick said, and he urged stronger controls on trucks and flagging at the intersection, noting trucks sometimes fail to stop at the posted stop sign.

Luke, the applicant representative for Central Specialties, described the company's dust control plan and traffic expectations. "Requiring us to water down the plant site every 6 hours for for dust control, and then we'll obviously have a water truck available that can spray water down on the on any gravel haul roads as necessary," he told the commission.

Commissioners and county staff pressed for a road‑haul agreement that would be acceptable to the county highway supervisor and the county commission. Commissioner John Marquardt (County Commissioner) and others recommended that the agreement specifically address turning movements and safety at the 430 Ninth/30 Fourth intersection near the pit, and that the county consider temporary traffic controls, flashing lights or reduced speed limits during heavy operations.

Commission discussion also noted other mitigation in the application: limiting higher‑noise activities to daytime hours, positioning equipment away from sensitive residences, routine maintenance of machinery to limit noise, the use of temporary lighting (with the expectation the plant would not run at night), and the option to add calcium or magnesium chloride to water sprays in exceptionally dry conditions.

The commission approved the permit with the condition that the applicant provide an agreed road‑haul plan acceptable to the county (including the highway supervisor) and that the road‑use / traffic‑safety measures be presented to the county commission when the CUP is forwarded. The commission recorded the final vote as: Hubert (aye); Lowst (aye); Kettering (no); Hummel (aye); O'Hara (aye); Welsh (aye); Clark (no). The chair asked the applicant to follow up with staff the next day to finalize conditions.

The permit is subject to any further county‑level approvals or conditions required by the county commission and by applicable county code sections cited in the application packet.