The Miami County Planning Commission on July 1 recommended approval of CUP 25001, a conditional use permit for the 1880 Block quarry expansion operated by 18 80 Enterprises, voting 6-1 after amending a condition that governed review on change of ownership.

Jennifer Kane, assistant director of planning and zoning, told commissioners the public hearing had closed at the May meeting and staff’s recommendation rests on an updated list of 18 conditions reflecting agency feedback and the applicant’s traffic study. Kane said the study, prepared by Kimberly Horn, concluded the quarry would generate about 107 vehicles a day on Hedge Lane, a small fraction of the road’s existing daily volume of roughly 1,478–1,800 vehicles, and that intersections would “operate efficiently with minimal delays.” Kane said Road & Bridge reviewed and concurred that no turn lanes or other road improvements were warranted to meet KDOT standards, and staff removed condition 17 (the previously proposed traffic-improvement requirement) on that basis.

Kane described other changes in the revised conditions: corrections to the May 6 utility-notification list so the county had contacted Heartland Electric, Panhandle (gas), the correct school district and Rural Water District No. 3, and a new condition (number 18 in the revised packet) intended to prevent dirt or materials from being placed in Rural Water District No. 3’s waterline easement. Kane said the applicant told staff the quarry would primarily use pond water and would only use the district supply for its office building.

David Waters, attorney for 18 80 Enterprises, said the applicant had worked with staff on the updated conditions and accepted the recommendation as presented, including the added item about the waterline if the commission treated it as an additional condition.

Commissioners discussed how the revised condition that required a review when ownership changes would be applied. Commissioners raised competing interpretations: one view was that the CUP is granted to the current applicant and would be invalid on a change of ownership, while others favored retaining a staff/commission review to confirm a new owner understands CUP obligations without treating that review as an approval or veto of a sale. Kane said the intent was to have whoever ultimately holds the approval understand and agree to comply with the conditions, and that county attorneys had reviewed the proposed language.

After further deliberation the commission member moving the motion said they would strike the second sentence of condition 3 (the sentence adding a separate owner-review step) while keeping the remainder of the condition language; commissioners voted 6-1 in favor of approving CUP 25001 as amended. The planning commission’s vote is a recommendation; Kane said the Board of County Commissioners will hear the application July 23.

The commission and staff noted other non-decision items in the record: concerns raised earlier by residents about truck queuing and safety for school buses and farm equipment; the applicant’s operational changes to reduce queuing, including moving truck arrival from 7:30 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. and asking employees not to park and wait on Hospital Lane; and staff observations from June 6 of a blasting event that, staff said, matched prior studies and appeared to be short in duration with limited dust.

The planning commission’s action is a recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners, not a final permit. The county will transmit the record and the revised conditions to the board for final action on July 23.