In coming months, we are hoping the legal fight accelerates and we will once and for all be able to put this fight behind us. As the holiday season approaches, we expect things will slow a bit. We thought it would be interesting (and instructive) to look back and review things that have happened, and remind everyone (including us) of the battles we've fought up until now.
When a petitioner seeks a zoning change or a special use permit, it's a legal process, not a political one. There are SIX OBJECTIVE STANDARDS that have to be met. A majority of members of the Winnebago County Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) must conclude that the petitioner has met ALL SIX STANDARDS. Today we will talk about STANDARD 1:
1. The establishment, maintenance, or operation of the special use will not be detrimental to or endanger the public health, safety, morals, comfort, or general welfare.
Atty. Caver, acting on behalf of an adjacent land owner, presented two critical witnesses: Hydrogeologist Doug Cieslak and Meteorologist Victor Gensini.
Mr. Cieslak talked about the danger of placing industrial businesses in quarries. He indicated that water pollution is almost a certainty, and that once contaminants get into the water table, there is no effective way to get them out. He talked about the probability that a spill in the quarry could affect groundwater, area wells, the Nygren Wetlands, and the Rock River.
Dr. Gensini testified, based on wind studies, that prevailing winds would carry air contaminants into nearby populated areas, including Stephen Mack Middle School, Old River Hills, the Woodlands and adjacent condo communities, Stone Ridge, and any other populated area within 5 miles of the quarry.
The testimony of both Mr. Cieslak and Dr. Gensini is EXPERT testimony AND was undisputed. Despite this, the ZBA voted 6-1 to allow a special use permit.
Clearly, this was a legal process that became a political one. No reasonable person could conclude that asphalt production in Black's Quarry DOES NOT endanger the health, safety, comfort, or general welfare of the public.