Daniel planning commission advances Geneva Rock conditional use permit with strict noise, shielding conditions

The Daniel Planning Commission voted May 20 to advance a revised conditional use permit (CUP) application from Geneva Rock for a concrete batch plant, approving a list of required noise-mitigation measures and directing staff to draft a revised CUP for legal review.

Geneva Rock representative Bill Gammell told the commission the company conducted a sound study and computer modeling showing one-hour average levels in the mid-50s decibels at nearby receptors and proposed a suite of mitigations including shields around noise sources, reoriented operations, stockpiles and berms between the plant and residences, and equipment modifications. “We could probably come up with a list of things for them to do, but the better approach is to control it by the decibel level,” Gammell said. He said the company’s model indicated a roughly 55 dB result for isolated project noise and that, accounting for ambient conditions, they used 57 dB as a conservative planning figure.

Neighbors described persistent, disruptive noise from the existing plant and pressed the commission for enforceable limits. “We need to do something drastically different from what happened with CMC because it's just too loud,” Scott Bassett said, describing late-evening banging and earlier wakeups caused by plant operations. Other residents asked that the CUP include operational limits for night hours and documented procedures for reporting violations.

Commissioners debated numeric thresholds, mitigation design and enforceability. Commissioner Byron Horner noted that operational fixes and structural shielding should be required; Commissioner Scott Long asked that the plan address sharp, intermittent noises such as banging or backup alarms at the source. Planning Director Eric Bunker recommended a berm-and-wall combination larger than previously modeled.

The motion approved by the commission requires Geneva Rock to: implement equipment modifications to reduce high-decibel impacts (including bumpers on loader buckets and other engineering mitigations), limit high-impact operations between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. where practicable, install internal sound barriers around major equipment, and construct a berm/wall combination totaling 20 feet with a 10-foot concrete wall component (designs that meet the 20-foot total may be proposed but must be approved by the commission). The motion also accepts a 57 dB one-hour average as the basis for the new CUP and directs staff to prepare a revised CUP for the next meeting following legal review.

The commission approved the motion unanimously (Skinner, Long, Taylor, Jones, Horner voting yes). The revised CUP language will return for formal action after legal review and incorporation of the specified mitigation measures.