Planning commission approves QAP material-site permit with white-noise requirement after neighbors raise noise and groundwater concerns

The Kenai Peninsula Borough Planning Commission on a unanimous vote granted a conditional land use permit (CLUP) to a material-site applicant associated with QAP, allowing nighttime operations between May 1 and Sept. 15 to support the Alaska Department of Transportation Sterling Safety Corridor project, and added a requirement that white-noise backup alarms be used during the project.

Ryan Rademay, a planner at the River Center, told commissioners staff reviewed site activity from Oct. 1, 2019, to Oct. 1, 2024, and determined the prior-existing-use status had lapsed; staff recommended approval of a CLUP with Type 1 and 2 endorsements to allow excavation and earth-materials processing. He described proposed excavation to about 14 feet below current grade while maintaining a two-foot separation above the water table and proposed vegetated and earthen berm buffers on three sides. Rademay said reclamation plans and bonding are on file and that public notice went to 68 landowners within 1,000 feet, with one letter of opposition received.

Applicant Darren Underwood described the operational needs tied to DOT’s nighttime work and said QAP was requesting only the six-month nighttime waiver within the May 1–Sept. 15 window, not a longer variance. “We’re…only requesting the waiver for the 6‑month window that is within our May 1 to September 15 dates,” Underwood said. He added the applicant preferred not to do crushing at night if avoidable and that the site would operate primarily as a material source and disposal location rather than as a constant nighttime crushing operation.

Neighbors raised concerns during public comment about noise and groundwater. Thomas Anderson, who said he owns a vacation rental within the 1,000‑foot zone, asked, “How is this construction site gonna impact my property or my tenants?” and warned that nighttime noise could reduce bookings. Chris Beard, who lives near the parcel, said he worries about sleep disruption from night work and about groundwater: “If that water table is even accidentally hit, that is gonna drastically hurt our water pressure and quality of life in our home,” he said. Ben Chia similarly asked whether monitoring or testing would be required to protect private wells.

Engineer Gina Duarteleben, representing McLean Consulting Inc., said test holes indicate proposed excavation between about 7 and 15 feet and that the application does not ask to enter groundwater; she confirmed a two-foot separation would be maintained and that reclamation bonding is already in place. “This application is not asking to enter the groundwater, and it will maintain a minimum of 2‑foot separation of groundwater,” Duarteleben said.

Commissioners questioned whether processing — especially rock crushing — would occur at night, and whether the processing waiver should be interpreted to allow crushing overnight. Staff clarified the hours-of-operation waiver and the processing waiver are separate items and that the planning commission could limit specific processing activities. Several commissioners urged explicitly excluding rock crushing from nighttime operations for clarity and neighbor protection; others cautioned that an emergency operational need could arise and that any change would require a formal modification.

The commission reached a compromise: it moved to add Condition 37, requiring white‑noise backup alarms during nighttime operations, and that amendment passed in roll call. Commissioners repeatedly expressed a desire to avoid night‑time rock crushing, and staff said an applicant could return for a modification if crushing becomes essential; however, the transcript records only the formal addition of the white‑noise condition and the CLUP’s approval, not a separately recorded ban on nighttime crushing.

The commission’s action authorizes nighttime hauling and extraction during the listed window, with the permitted processing and any future modifications subject to the CLUP conditions and any future modification requests. Director Ruffner and staff emphasized that property owners concerned about well quantity or quality are advised to record water rights with the state (DNR) as a protective measure.

The permit was approved and the meeting moved on to the plat committee report.