Board approves Muny Sanitary District yard‑waste composting facility after public questions on traffic and water

The Delaware Muny Board of Zoning Appeals voted to allow a Muny Sanitary District yard‑waste composting facility on 3800 East Wilson Road, approving the variance unanimously after an extended presentation and public comment period.

Mara Hoff, attorney for MSD, and Adam Leech, city engineer and MSD president, told the board the facility is intended to collect fall leaves and occasional storm debris, wind‑row the material and let it decompose into a nutrient‑dense compost used for city parks and public works. "We're trying to divert 700 tons of waste material from ECR and turn it into something usable," Leech said, estimating the active composting area will occupy roughly 3.37 acres of a larger parcel.

Neighbors who live within walking distance of the site urged caution. "I've lived here 21 years and it is the most peaceful road you could probably find in Delaware County," said Elizabeth Wilcox, who said she and other adjacent owners rely on wells and worry about pests and noise. Vicky Shields, whose back door she said is about 15 steps from the proposed active area, said she expects property‑value impacts and requested a privacy fence.

MSD representatives outlined multiple controls they said would limit community impacts: registration and oversight by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) with annual reporting and design rules; a 25‑foot vegetative buffer plus a chain‑link gate to screen views; a proposed asphalt site pad with limited paved area (about 0.44 acres) and a working wind‑row area of roughly 3.37 acres; no burning; and operational timing concentrated in roughly a six‑to‑eight week leaf season. Leech said trucks will be the same type already on Wilson Road (city leaf trucks) and estimated a top‑end volume of 10–12 trucks per day during peak collection, typically spread across a workday.

Concern about traffic damage to Wilson Road prompted MSD to pledge repaving the 753‑foot approach used by district vehicles and adding gravel shoulders before the site is used. MSD also described plans for stormwater controls, including an anaerobic treatment pond, HDP liner and an engineered wetland to prevent groundwater and surface‑water contamination.

Board members discussed conditions to ensure the plan's commitments were enforceable. A motion to approve BZA03‑26 carried unanimously; the board required the road work and compliance with Article 31, Section 14 of the local ordinance before operations begin. The office will issue certification of the approval so the district may proceed with its purchase agreement and subsequent IDEM permitting.