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Dear Editor:
Noblesville residents, organizing as “Don’t Leave It to Beaver,” are encouraging their common council representatives to deny the special rezoning request from Beaver Materials for a gravel pit next to Potter’s Bridge Park, the historic Potter’s Covered Bridge, and hundreds of nearby single-family residences.
Currently, this land is zoned as “R2-FH” (Residential/Flood Hazard), and the land owner and Beaver Materials are seeking to change this land to “R2-FH/GUO” (Residential-Flood Hazard/Government Use Overlay) for the extraction of sand and gravel along roughly 50 acres of land located in the 19200-19500 block of Allisonville Road on the east side for 10 or more years.
Don’t Leave It to Beaver organizers and Noblesville citizens opposing the gravel pit will converge outside the Noblesville City Hall building on the nearby public sidewalk at 5 p.m. until sunset on Monday, Oct. 19 for a peaceful protest. During this time, city zoning officials will be meeting to discuss the zoning request during the Plan Commission Meeting at 6 p.m. All who oppose the gravel mining operation are encouraged to attend the protest.
Organizers are petitioning the Noblesville community to sign a petition outlining the concerns for the health and safety of our community, infrastructure, and environment. So far, the petition has gathered over 1,000 signatures in less than 24 hours. The community is also encouraged to contact their common council representatives.
“This is going to be a disaster area for 10 years,” said Karey Bredemeyer, a realtor who lives in the Potters Woods subdivision, which contains 140 homes. “We didn’t build here to be next to a quarry. I can’t imagine trying to sell a home here when trucks are driving in and out of there all day.”
Chief among the concerns is the lake that would be left behind by the mining company. Touted as a great community addition to the Potter’s Bridge Park after 10 years of mining, gravel pit lakes are inherently more dangerous than normal lakes or ponds. Steep underwater drop offs, unstable shoreline ground, and plummeting water temperatures could result in tragedy.
“My concerns are not only due to the air, noise, and water pollution that we will deal with as the gravel is mined for 10 years,” said Traci Preble, a resident of Potter’s Woods, “but also the danger of the pit in respect to the young children that live around it and use the park in the following years.”
Based on Noblesville’s average wind speed, a known lung carcinogen – silica dust – can travel up to four miles, which could affect some 6,600 students at five Noblesville schools within a two-mile radius of the proposed gravel mine.
Don’t Leave It to Beaver believes mining aggregate stone near hundreds of homes just north of Noblesville’s historic downtown in an established wildlife corridor is a bad choice for the Noblesville community. The effects of the gravel pit will have long-lasting implications for the families in the area, for the community at large who love and use Potter’s Bridge Park, and for the local ecosystem that relies on the White River.
Follow Don’t Leave It to Beaver on Twitter at twitter.com/StopBeaver.
Submitted by Rachael Raymer
Don’t Leave It to Beaver
I would like to thank the Noblesville City Council for taking a few minutes to read my letter that I am submitting concerning the proposed Gravel Pit on 10th street.
I am a resident in the immediate area, and my family and I drive past the proposed site on a daily basis. My home is less than one mile from the proposed site as well. When I purchased my home approximately 14 years ago, I made the intent to ensure it would be my forever-home. I was cautious of its location, the area it was in, and other factors. I say this with honesty – I would not have bought this home if it was this close to a gravel pit.
I would like to use this opportunity to present some concerns and facts that can be verified.
My first concern is wear and tear on 10th street. This street was not engineered for heavy load traffic, upwards to 80,000 pounds. While Tractor Trailers do come up and down 10th street on occasion, their max weight is under 80,000 pounds and they have an extended wheelbase to help disperse the trucks weight on the road below. A class 6 or 7 Dump truck, with a shortened wheelbase, could exceed 70,000 pounds (35 tons) with load and the weight of the vehicle bearing on the road harshly. Chris Beaver stated that there would be approximately 30 loads per day. This means 60 trips over that area of the roadway daily, each trip carrying cargo.
As this is a gravel pit, the main cargo will be gravel – a combination of Dust, stones, and pebbly dirt. These stones can easily be picked up by cars driving by and become projectiles, capable of damaging other vehicles and nearby property. If you are curious about what I am saying, I encourage you to drive up and down River Road, or drive by the IMI gravel pit as well. You will quickly realize the scope of what dump trucks can do to roads.
Chris Beaver has made several statements in an interview to the Indy Star, which I will state below.
Firstly, Chris Beaver stated that he would build mounds around the area and cover them with tarps to help reduce noise. This would only help to reduce noise. Given the nature of the heavy equipment being used, noise can and will still be heard by the neighboring community. I would rather that my community who traveled down the street not see berms with tarps over them as they would be a visual eye-sore to the area.
Secondly, Chris Beaver stated that the vehicles would drive slow, or an appropriate speed, going up and down 10th street. There is no way that Beaver Materials can control the actions of the dump truck drivers once they leave the gravel pit. If these vehicles are subcontractors or private enterprises, he cannot tell them how fast they can or cannot drive.
Thirdly, Chris Beaver stated that there would only be one excavator working in this area. How long would this be the case? What would happen if he brings in a second excavator some time later?
Fourthly, Chris Beaver mentioned how he gives back to the community, and how the parks department would benefit from the gravel pit 10+ years from now. He has also gifted a small piece of land upfront. This is nothing more than dangling a carrot in front of the city for him to have a gravel pit inside the city of Noblesville. After ten plus years, after he has plundered the area for its valuable resources, Chris Beaver says he will generously re-donate it to the parks department. Why does Chris Beaver get to walk away from unusable land, destroyed roads, and lowered property value and get to call it a “gift”?
Any promise made today by Chris Beaver could change in 6 months, a year, and 10 years from now. How are we to be assured that the terms of the contract won’t change later? His promises sound nice, like trucks only being half-loaded, or that there would be a limited number of trucks running up and down 10th street daily, but we as the community have no guarantee that this will be the case.
I know the Beaver family is deeply embedded with their finances and political influences in Hamilton county. I am hoping that you look at the facts and not the additions being given to sweeten the deal.
If the City council feels compelled to vote to benefit Chris Beaver and Beaver Materials, please have all his promises put in writing, reviewed by the city lawyer, and made binding, for the sake of the community and all involved.
Respectfully submitted,
Jeffery Hoistion