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Neighbors press Spirit Lake council over proposed industrial-park concrete plant; council takes no action
Summary
At a March 24 public hearing, neighbors raised dust, drainage and traffic concerns about a proposed small-batch concrete plant in East Lake Industrial Park; the council did not waive first/second consideration and took no immediate vote on rezoning.
The City of Spirit Lake held a public hearing on March 24 regarding rezoning a parcel in East Lake Industrial Park for a dry small-batch concrete plant proposed by Chris Beck of Beck Excavating and True North Ready Mix.
Applicant Chris Beck told the council the plant would use new filtration technology to control dust, would require an Iowa Department of Natural Resources air quality permit and would be subject to DNR inspections. He said summer hours would typically be about 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., with occasional earlier or later starts for large pours, and that the operation would crush concrete roughly once per year. Beck said he preferred the industrial park location and that the site would include a grass buffer; he stated he was willing to discuss other buffer options to be a good neighbor.
Nearby residents Paul and Krista Thomsen said they were not opposed to a small-batch plant in the industrial park but requested the facility be located on a different lot farther from their property. They said the lot under consideration is on a high spot, raising concerns about windblown materials and spills, and noted worries about drainage and resale value. Other attendees pressed about who maintains the road (the county), responsibility for infrastructure extension across the park, and how detention ponds drain into nearby property.
Councilmember Johnson moved to waive first and second consideration of the ordinance to rezone the industrial parcel; no second was received and the council did not proceed to adopt an ordinance that night. City Administrator Gregg L. Owens explained that if property owners in the industrial park must approve restrictive covenants, and that water, street and sewer availability varies across the park.
Because the council did not waive consideration, the item remains pending. Neighbors asked for additional assurances on buffers, drainage management and alternative siting within the industrial park; the applicant said he would comply with applicable DNR permitting and monitoring.
