Beaver Materials and some area residents are at odds over the aggregate service company’s proposed plan to extract sand and gravel at a site near Cherry Tree Road in Noblesville.
At its Sept. 5 meeting, the city’s Board of Zoning Appeals motioned to continue the topic when it meets again Oct. 5 at City Hall.
There will not be a public hearing at the meeting. The board is only accepting additional written comments or questions, which must be received by 4 p.m. Sept. 22. They can be emailed to Denise Ascheleman, senior planner for the City of Noblesville, at [email protected].
Twenty-one people spoke during the board’s Sept. 5 public hearing portion of the meeting.
Pamela Sasse, who lives near the proposed excavation site, was happy the item was pushed to October but isn’t happy there won’t be a public hearing.
“It’s rigged against us as far as I can see at this point,” she said after the meeting. “(We) can only pray for the best.”
Kurt Beard, another nearby resident, was also happy the issue will be continued at the October meeting.
“This will give Beaver and other neighbors more time to understand each other’s goals and needs and hopefully come to a plan that provides for the growth of Noblesville, the economic impact of Beaver (Materials) and the continued peacefulness of our area by residents,” Beard said.
Beaver Materials wants to extract sand and gravel from a location near some residents around Cherry Tree Road. In its application, the company promised the project “won’t be injurious to the public health, safety, morals and general welfare of the community.”
Many area residents disagree and have launched a petition to stop the project, arguing it would decrease property value; set a precedent for other companies wanting to do work outside of neighborhoods; increase traffic; deteriorate roads; contaminate drinking water; emit air pollution and dust that might hurt wildlife; and create noise.
In 2022, Beaver Materials petitioned the Noblesville City Council to expand Potter’s Bridge Park by 50 acres for a gravel extraction project. On June 28, 2022, the proposal was rejected by the council.
Beaver Materials made a similar request in 2020 but withdrew it when the city’s plan commission couldn’t agree to send the proposal to the council with a favorable recommendation.
The Board of Zoning Appeals is expected to vote on Beaver Materials’ most recent proposal at its Oct. 5 meeting, set for 6 p.m at City Hall Council Chambers, 16 S. 10th St.
