County approves amendment of gravel pit’s conditional use permit

The Lake County Commission, sitting as the county’s Board of Adjustment, approved a request Tuesday from a local gravel pit to amend the conditions of it’s original conditional use permit.  Lee and Donna Yager with “The Gravel Pit” requested that the county amend the condition on their conditional use permit approved in 2016 that required them to stay one-thousand feet from the adjoining resident’s property line.  The gravel pit is located east of Madison along Highway 34.  An attempt to amend the conditions in October of 2020 was denied by the board after opposition from the property owner at the time.  Donna Yager told the board that the new owner of the property east of the pit, Jane Dubbelde, had no problem with them mining to within one-thousand feet of her residence.  Dubbelde reiterated that during Tuesday’s meeting.  Lee Yager said that they should be done mining the property and reclaiming it by the end of next year.

Commissioner Adam Leighton made the motion to amend the conditions of the Yager’s original conditional use permit.  The condition will be modified from stating that Yager “stay one-thousand feet from the adjoining resident’s property line” to “shall stay a minimum of one-thousand feet from mineral exploration and extraction; rock crushers; and concrete and asphalt mixing plants property line to the nearest residence”.  

The motion passed on a unanimous vote of the board, with Alternate member Dale Thompson filling in for Commissioner Dennis Slaughter, who was not at Tuesday’s meeting.  Commissioner Deb Reinicke recused herself from the discussion.