Resident urges St. Louis County to enforce zoning after alleged expansion of Alden Township gravel pit

Sherry Zoff, a resident of 16512 Harbors Road in Two Harbors, told the St. Louis County Board during the public comment period that an expanding gravel pit in Alden Township has generated heavy truck traffic, noise and dust that she says exceed the pit’s original permit and terms of the county zoning ordinance.

Zoff said the pit, which she identified as owned by Jack Blacks, has grown since the original 2015 conditional-use approval and now produces far more truck traffic than the application allowed. "The pit is very different now than when the original owner applied in 2015 for a small gravel pit with no more than 40 trucks total," she said. She added that some days last summer there were "as many as 250 trucks" passing neighborhood houses along narrow dirt roads, creating dust and safety concerns.

Zoff told the board she has pursued multiple avenues for relief: contacting Alden Township, filing a complaint with St. Louis County Planning Director Ryan Logan last year, speaking with the county highway department and sheriff’s deputies, and requesting a traffic study. She said the county’s zoning ordinance requires the pit owner to control dust to the nearest paved road and cited the state fugitive-dust statute as supporting the need for controls. "We realize gravel is needed, and we have repeatedly said we do not want to shut the pit down. We are just looking for help with some limits so we can enjoy our community again," she said.

She said a traffic study she requested in June was not performed; instead, the county conducted a speed study in November when, she said, fewer trucks were on the road and major haulers such as Northland Construction were not operating. Zoff also said she had asked the highway department to lower truck speeds on local roads but that Victor Lund from the highway department was not amenable to posting reduced speed limits. She said homes lie as close as 200 feet from the affected roads.

In response to Zoff’s remarks, a meeting moderator said County Administrator Kevin Gray would speak with her after the public comment period. Zoff told the board she had also reached out to Commissioners McDonald and Mussoff and expected the original complaint and related emails were available to them.

The board did not take formal action during the public comment period. Zoff asked the county to reevaluate whether the pit continues to conform to Alden Township’s comprehensive land-use plan and cited a provision she identified as section 8.9.5 that allows the planning director to reassess conditions if circumstances change. She said the pit owner previously told regulators he would limit the operation to a maximum of 40 trucks, a condition she says was removed from the permit record.

The complaints Zoff described center on enforcement and compliance rather than a demand to close the pit: she asked the county to enforce its zoning ordinance, require dust control to the nearest paved road, and reconsider permit conditions in light of what she described as a substantial change in operations. Zoff said she would submit supporting documents and statutory citations to county staff.