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Geneva Rock urges higher noise threshold for proposed batch plant; neighbors and commissioners raise peak-noise concerns
Summary
Geneva Rock presented a sound study showing ambient levels frequently above the CUP’s 50 dB limit and proposed changing the permit to a 55 dB average with mitigation; commissioners and a resident warned of 65–70 dB peaks and said the commission could not act because of pending litigation.
Geneva Rock representatives told the Daniel Planning Commission on Feb. 18 that an earlier sound study for a proposed concrete batch plant showed ambient levels frequently above the 50-decibel limit in the town’s conditional use permit (CUP) and recommended the CUP be revised to permit a 55-decibel average with mitigation measures.
Bill Gammell, vice president of Clyde, Inc. (parent company of Geneva Rock), and engineer Bill King presented charts and maps, saying the 24-hour monitoring showed intermittent readings above 50 dB and occasional peaks as high as 59 dB. "The 50 decibels is completely impossible to comply with," Gammell said, and proposed a 55-dB average combined with berms and sound walls and other mitigation.
Commissioners and members of the public pressed the company on peak noise and the effect on nearby residences. Public commenter Chip Polvoorde said he expects peak levels of "65–70 decibels that will wake up the residents" and asked for more substantial barriers, including trees or a wall large enough to block the sound. Commissioner Heber Taylor said he believed "the 50-decibel level is not feasible. No one can do that." Commissioner Byron Horner asked how the town would enforce compliance and what remedies would be available if residents still heard sharp banging noises after mitigation.
Gammell said Geneva Rock is willing to install the previously proposed 15-foot berm and wall and to consider higher barriers if needed, but he warned of practical limits and argued that the town should use a 55-dB standard for residential-adjacent industrial operations. Chair Gary Weight told the presenters that the commission could not take action at this meeting because of pending litigation and suggested Geneva Rock return with a revised application and additional modeling.
The commission did not vote on the CUP or on any standard change. Commissioners asked the company to provide additional sound modeling and mitigation options for future consideration. The matter will return to a future meeting when legal constraints allow discussion and action.
