February 28 PC Special Meeting Summary

 

The Planning Commission (PC) held a special meeting on Monday Feb 28 regarding Stoneco’s application for a 400-acre mine on Pleasant Lake Rd. This is still the first phase of the application process to determine if there is a need for the material Stoneco proposes to mine.  

Meeting Summary 

• In short, the PC postponed making a recommendation of need until a meeting on March 15.  It believes that Stoneco has still not provided complete information to satisfy the township’s ordinance.  Stoneco has maintained that the information required by the ordinance is very difficult to obtain.  
• At the March 15 meeting, the PC expects to request any remaining information it needs from Stoneco.  If Stoneco is able to respond at the meeting, the PC might make a recommendation that evening.  Whether they do or don’t, this is not the end of the process.  
• The next meeting is: 

Tuesday, March 15, 7:00 pm

Sharon United Methodist Church 

19980 Pleasant Lake Road 

More Detail 

• The meeting was well attended, with over 125 attendees.  This is a clear demonstration of public interest in the issue. 
• There is good coverage of the event in the Sun Times.
• Sharon Preservation Society presented its position during public comment at the meeting.  Most, if not all, attendees indicated they supported the position. 
• Key issues that were debated: 

• Stoneco rebutted the information provided by the Spicer Group, an independent engineering firm hired by the township, whose report found “..in our opinion, the need for a new mining operation has not been sufficiently demonstrated.”  Read the full report here.
• The attorneys for the township and Stoneco continue to disagree on how to interpret the definition of “need” in state law and township ordinance. 
• The township’s counsel, Gerald Fisher, observed that the preservation of farmland might be considered as important as gravel for the public interest. 

Other important news 

• On Monday, March 7, the Mineral Licensing Board (MLB) will meet at 6:30 pm to review the next steps for the application to provide a license to expand the mine on M52.  Among the items on the agenda, the MLB will be: 

• Reviewing the information submitted by the mine operator, Aggregate Industries 

• Proposing a schedule of meetings for reviewing the application: 

        1. Monday, March 21 – Extraction Operations 

        2. Monday, April 4 – Reclamation Plan 

        3. Monday, April 18 – Water Quality 

        4. Monday, May 2 – Air Quality 

        5. Monday, May 16 – Decision  

• We have added a PayPal option for accepting donations.  We are raising money for a large informational event to help answer questions about the very serious consequences that could result from aggregate mining.  Any contribution will be well spent! 

Also, a quick note of gratitude for the show of support, in both words and donations, for Sharon Preservation Society from so many attendees at last Monday’s meeting.