Planning commission denies Wickham sand-and-gravel mine after heavy public opposition

The Williams County Planning and Zoning Commission denied a trio of applications from Diamond Bee Companies and Basin Sand that sought a zone change, variance and conditional-use permit to expand sand-and-gravel mining on land owned by Roger and Rita Wickham northeast of Williston.

The denial came after more than an hour of presentation and public comment on the series of related applications, which the applicant described as a plan to mine sand in five-acre working faces, convey product by a slurry system to a nearby processing facility and average about 80 truck trips per day once operating.

The commission’s decision matters because the projects would have changed land currently mapped commercial/rural into agricultural zoning to allow open-pit mining in an area that has experienced new residential development. Neighbors, township officials and several…