Scott County planning panel continues hearing after residents, Jordan raise safety, health and traffic concerns over proposed borrow pit

The Scott County Planning Advisory Commission on May 11 held a hours-long public hearing on PL2026-022, a request for an interim use permit to operate a temporary borrow pit on an 86-acre parcel in St. Lawrence Township to supply roughly 200,000 cubic yards of sand for the Highway 169/282/County Road 9 interchange project. After extensive testimony from residents, township officials and city representatives, the commission voted to continue the application to a future meeting so the applicant and county staff can provide more traffic, air-quality, reclamation and plan-detail information.

The commission opened the hearing after staff described the site location east of the city of Jordan and adjacent to the Timberline and Sue Vista residential developments. Zoning manager Marty Schmitz told the board the proposal would disturb approximately 27 acres of the parcel and that mining is permitted as an interim use in the property's urban expansion reserve designation. He also reported a detailed opposition letter from the city of Jordan, several public comment letters included in the packet and a petition of roughly 100 signatures opposed to the request.

Jason, the applicant representative for Hoffman Construction, said the extraction would be limited to material needed exclusively for the interchange project and that the operation would involve excavation and possible screening only; there would be no on-site crushing or washing. He described mitigation measures including creating berms, using a recycled concrete-asphalt haul road to reduce dust, and applying water as needed. "When it's all said and done in 2027, we will restore it and walk away," he said, adding the contractor's obligation is to bring the site to a vegetative standard before departing.

Residents who live within a few hundred feet of the proposed pit pressed the commission on public safety, health and emergency access. Pete Giancola said his daughter was recently hospitalized and described a 45-minute delay reaching Highway 169 during a local event; he warned that sustained heavy truck traffic on 190th Street could block emergency egress. Other residents said family members have chronic respiratory illnesses and disabilities and urged stricter limits on trucks, hours of operation and monitoring for dust. "We have no protection when you mine silica, sugar sand, in our neighborhood to protect our families," Giancola said. Several residents asked for air-quality testing, clearer haul-route alternatives and binding guarantees on restoration and road repair.

City of Jordan officials reiterated a formal opposition to the IUP. Luke Wheeler, the city's engineer, and Jeff Wonsky, a city planner working with Bolton & Menk, told the commission the city's comprehensive plan designates the parcel for future medium-density residential use and flagged concerns about future utility service, access and adverse impacts on adjacent neighborhoods.

Commissioners and staff focused on several technical areas they said required more information before a recommendation: estimated peak truck volumes and peak-hour impacts on 190th Street and the roundabout, local emergency access implications, a traffic-management plan and potential alternative haul routes, clarity about maximum excavation depths and the reclamation plan (topsoil replacement, seed mix and success metrics), and whether county permit conditions should require an air-quality or noise study. County staff noted MPCA standards would apply for noise and that, where necessary, the applicant could be required to fund sound studies or other monitoring.

The applicant acknowledged some plan changes since the initial submittal and presented updated cut-and-fill maps showing a somewhat smaller footprint and reduced quantities. Hoffman estimated a normal production shift would generate roughly "3 to 400" truck loads for a 10- to 12-hour day (about 35 loads per hour) and said total hauling for the project would amount to approximately 40 days of active hauling spread across the construction schedule. The applicant and staff also discussed work-hour windows: Scott County ordinance allows 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays; staff said permit conditions often include aligning operations to adjacent city hours where practical.

After the public hearing closed, the commission voted to continue the application to a later meeting to allow the applicant to provide the requested studies and updated plans. A voice vote was recorded as "four yeses and three abstentions" on the motion to continue. The commission's recommendation will be forwarded to the County Board, which makes the final decision on land-use permits.

The commission asked county staff to coordinate follow-up materials with the applicant and to notify the city, township and neighborhood when the item is rescheduled. The public record for PL2026-022 will include the April 24 city letter of opposition and the public comment letters and petition submitted to the county.