The Waupaca County Board of Appeals will hold a public hearing, Thursday and Friday, May 15-16, to determine if we will or will not have an industrial sand mine in the town of Union.
The Union Town Board said no to the mine but that was overturned by the Waupaca County Zoning Committee.
Whatever happened to local control and the years and thousands of dollars spent on Comprehensive Planning in Waupaca County? Union’s Comprehensive Plan explicitly says no to this mining in agricultural zones.
Currently, Farmland Preservation also says no to industrial sand mining. If you can’t build a house in these areas why would you give a special permit for mining?
Initially it was implied that the Waupaca Foundry would somehow fail without this mine. Yet, two years have passed and they continue uninterrupted with their long-term supplier. The type of sand needed is available, it is not exclusive to just the proposed parcels. It is a pass-through cost decision, certainly not one critical to survival.
The county has an ad hoc committee working on a non-metallic mining ordinance that will put greater controls in place. Why not wait until the new ordinance has been passed?
If you agree, please attend the hearings and be heard.
Tania Wadzinski
Manawa