Buckeye commission approves conditional use permit for GFT Readymix sand-and-gravel operation east of Hazen Road

The Buckeye Planning & Zoning Commission on a unanimous voice vote approved a conditional use permit for GFT Readymix to operate a sand-and-gravel extraction and processing site on approximately 77 acres east of the Brooks Road and Hazen Road intersection.

City staff presented the proposal and noted the site plan will develop about 63 acres as a pit and processing area with a batch plant and mobile equipment. Adam Copin, deputy director in development services, told the commission that resource extraction is a conditional use in the site’s rural-residential zoning and that staff added provisions addressing landscaping, lighting and operational hours.

The permit was approved subject to conditions A through U. Key operational conditions require that extraction not occur between 6 p.m. and 5 a.m.; the batch plant may load during those hours provided all loading equipment uses the least-disruptive safety alarms permitted by applicable safety regulations. Staff removed a boilerplate condition tied to permanent developments (condition T) and added Condition U to require an overburden berm and strategic placement of stored overburden on the east border to provide visual and sound buffering between the operation and the adjacent equestrian center and RV parking.

John Casey, the operator, said his team met repeatedly with the adjacent equestrian center’s representatives and reached compromises on truck routing and event notifications. Under the agreements noted at the hearing, the operator will be notified 30 days before major events at the Buckeye Quest Western Event Center and will reroute truck traffic off Miller Road during those events.

Josh Wilmont, who represents the Buckeye Quest Western Event Center, told the commission the center is not opposed to “responsible development” but asked for enforceable conditions to protect equestrian operations and nearby RV sites within 300 feet of the proposed pit. Wilmont also raised concerns about backup-alarm noise; he said the applicant later told him the alarms measured about 90 decibels.

Copin told the commission the city does not have a specific decibel standard for truck backup alarms or a vibration ordinance; general nuisance noise regulations and Maricopa County enforcement mechanisms apply. Staff said the condition language requires the operator to investigate and, where feasible, install quieter white‑noise or suppressed backup alarms that meet safety requirements.

On dust control, the applicant and operator emphasized that Maricopa County Air Quality issues and enforces dust-control permits separately from the city; the applicants said they hold county dust permits, operate water trucks and trackout controls (truck washers/shakers) and expected county inspections at least quarterly. Staff said code enforcement responds to complaints and will work with the owner to enforce permit conditions.

Commissioners discussed dust, potential impacts on horses and enforcement mechanisms before moving and seconding the permit. The motion to approve PLZU-25-00006 with conditions A–U passed with no recorded opposition. The added Condition U, recorded on the public record, requires the operator to place overburden mounding between the operation and the equestrian center to mitigate noise and visual impacts.

The commission did not set a specific decibel limit or a vibration-monitoring program; staff said establishing numeric noise standards or a permanent vibration-monitoring protocol would require additional study and ordinance changes.