By Scott Tedrick
News Editor
What does an antique store, retreat center and temporary asphalt plant all have in common?
They all have to the potential of drawing the ire of citizens if placed within or near the city limits.
Issues surrounding all three current and prospective projects were discussed inside the council chambers on Monday night, and in all three instances the council essentially determined that it would need more information before deciding upon an appropriate course of action.
One of the projects is already in operation, and any action would effect whether like projects will be permitted in the future. The other two would be firsts within the city limits and, according to Granite Falls attorney Greg Holmstrom, possibly the state.
The asphalt plant
Mayor Dave Smiglewski said that the city has received a number of phone calls from citizens issuing complaints about Alexandria road contractor Central Specialties’ temporary asphalt plant operation located on the property of Martin Marietta Aggregate. Though the site is zoned for industrial use.
Some citizens complained about the smell and the exhaust of the plant while others expressed concern over emissions they believed to be toxic to their health. Before Smiglewski had a chance to call Central Specialties and Martin Marrieta, they called him.
“I can't say enough about how cooperative they were,” commented the mayor.
The project has a seven work-day permit to operate the plant, which is creating bituminous asphalt for the Highway 7 construction project. The plant is located at Martin Marietta because of the close proximity to the aggregate. If the weather holds out it is expected to be removed after Thursday.
Project Manager Skip DeMarais said that initial work amongst overcast skies and strong eastward winds created an unfavorable situation because it blew the facility’s exhaust toward downtown. He said ‘normal’ conditions made such a plant less irksome. He stressed that the emissions that came from plant were almost entirely steam and said that scrubbers captured 99 percent of pollutants.
Asphalt facilities have been erected at the site before and Martin Marietta representatives said that they rarely host temporary asphalt plants two years in a row.
Present for the meeting and toting a stack of informational papers, Linda Ims was unconvinced that the asphalt facility did not pose a serious threat to her health. She declared that there were cancer causing materials and neurological disruptors created by the hot mix process. Also in attendance was her husband, Steve and two other community members. Only Linda Ims spoke.
City Manager Bill Lavin said that the only way the city could establish some sort of control over the site is to establish a zoning amendment after the current project is through. The zoning amendment would apply to future asphalt facilities requiring them to obtain a Conditional Use Permit from the Planning Commission, which would first hold a public hearing.
Stating that they would look into Minnesota Pollution Control Agency information, the city council indicated that it wanted to act in the best interest of its citizens as well as businesses. It would need the additional information to determine how to do so.
Business proposals
Both Mary Gillespie and Betsy Lavin are interested starting two very different businesses, but they happened to be on the agenda for Monday’s council meeting with two strikingly similar problems.
Gillespie is interested in locating a antique store at the site of the vacant church on 308 8th Ave. near Yellow Medicine East while Betsy Lavin would like to establish a “Life Purpose Retreat and Coaching Center” at what is currently a home at 1125 Prentice.
The problem is that both properties of interest are zoned residential.
Attorney Holmstrom said that the City had two options that would permit the businesses to operate out of the proposed locations. He said council members could either rezone the property commercial, or amend the current zoning ordinance to broaden what constitutes a special use. The women would then have to return to the council and request the special use permit.
The zoning amendment was the only course considered as a possibility by the council, and then a debate ensued as to whether council members wanted to set a precedent of permitting businesses within city limits.
In the past, a business such as Curves has been allowed to operate in a residential district, but Holmstrom explained that the special use permit was granted because it was owner occupied and also provided a business ‘service,’ rather than that considered ‘retail.’
Neither Lavin nor Gillespie intends to live on site.
He cautioned that if the City were to eventually grant special use permits for either business that the city was heading down a slippery slope that would make it hard for it to deny other businesses in the future. The concern being that they may not necessarily be as benign in their impact on the residential community as the proposed projects.
Council members expressed a desire to see the businesses in the city and to make use of, in Gillespie’s case, vacant property but also echoed Holmstrom’s concern for the impact on residents.
“They bought a residential home and it should stay residential, period,” said councilman Joe Fagnano.
In the case of Gillespie council members voted 4-2 in favor of a resolution that will direct Holmstrom to investigate what an amended zoning ordinance might look like. That ordinance would be written to allow for an antique shop at the particular location, but restrict other businesses, allowing the council to consider case-by-case scenarios.
Fagano and Bill Miller were the two dissenters. The vote does not lock the City into any further action.
In Betsy Lavin’s case, the council voted 4-2 against the investigation of a zoning ammendment, but suggested that they would reconsider the action if she received a favorable response to the retreat center by property owners in the vicinity.
Smiglewski and Scott Peterson voted in favor. It appeared that both projects will come before the council again.
