Pennington County panel delays decision on contractor storage yard tied to proposed Box Elder gravel mine after heavy public opposition

Pennington County Planning Commissioners voted May 12 to continue consideration of a conditional use permit for a contractor storage yard and gravel stockpiling site near Box Elder until the June 23 meeting so the application can be considered alongside a pending state mining permit.

The move followed more than two hours of public comment from Box Elder residents, city officials and nearby property owners who said heavy truck traffic, dust, noise and potential impacts on property values and wildlife made the proposal inappropriate so close to new housing and a school bus route. "It will reduce the value of real estate," said Randy Olivier, a commercial and residential broker who lives near the site. "If your property value decreases, your property tax decreases."

The Planning Commission's vote to defer was made to coincide with a separate mining hearing scheduled for June 23. Jason Fenneson, Assistant Planning Director, told commissioners the contractor storage application (CU25-0012) would allow equipment and aggregate stockpiling on the site; the larger mining permit must be issued by the State of South Dakota. "The contractor storage is just to allow them to store some gravel there and have equipment there at this point in time," Fenneson said. Cody, senior planner, noted state notice rules for conditional use permits: "Per state statute for a conditional use permit letters are sent to property owners within 500 feet of the property. However when we move forward with the mining permit those are within a half mile."

Speakers who opposed the application cited several recurring concerns: narrow local roads that they said are not safe for additional heavy trucks; potential damage to bridges and pavements; dust and long-term health and resale-value effects; and loss of wildlife habitat. Larry Larson, mayor of Box Elder, said residents received a notice describing "only a contractor's storage yard," which he said understates the scope, and said the city's 2025 comprehensive plan disfavors heavy industrial uses near the area. "You won't be able to open the windows," Larson said of nearby homes if dust were uncontrolled. Several residents asked that the two related permits (the county contractor storage CUP and the state mining permit) be heard together.

Representatives of the applicant, 63 Industries (Lyndon Bolt and Clyde Lipp), and landowners (Harry Christiansen and Mike Demersman) told the commission the owners intend a short-term, alluvial-fan gravel operation they described as a roughly four-year project and said state mining rules and bond requirements would require phased reclamation and dust controls. "The state requires us to reclaim as we mine," Lyndon Bolt said, adding, "We have water trucks, we have water systems on our crushers to control the dust." Harry Christiansen, one of the property owners, said the mining royalties could help make the property more attractive for future residential development.

The commission's motion to postpone was seconded and carried; the chair announced the item will be continued to the June 23 Planning Commission meeting at 9:00 a.m. Staff and commissioners repeatedly noted the county conditional use decision and the state mining permit are separate processes but said hearing the two items together would provide the public an integrated opportunity to comment and for the commission to consider traffic-routing, reclamation, and haul-route agreements. The county's staff report recorded several interdepartmental comments, including Box Elder's request for a haul-route agreement and the need for an approach permit for 150 First Avenue.

The postponement preserves the county's technical review of the contractor storage request and gives residents additional time to review documents that staff said were still outstanding for the floodplain and haul-route coordination. The June 23 hearing will include both the county CUP related to contractor storage and the mining permit hearing required by state processes.