The Beaver Gravel Pit is back on the docket, and some citizens are not happy

Submitted

On March 25, Beaver Gravel Corporation and the Hamilton County Parks and Recreation Department re-filed their zoning appeal to the Noblesville Plan Commission to operate a sand and gravel extraction business near Potter’s Bridge Park. The issue is scheduled to go before the Plan Commission on May 16.

The proposal would allow a sand and gravel extraction business by Beaver Gravel Corporation, adjacent to Potter’s Bridge Park and next to the White River in Noblesville. The petitioners are requesting that the City of Noblesville rezone the 50-acre parcel owned by Beaver from Residential (R2)/Flood Hazard to Medium High Density Residential (R5)/Government Use Overlay/Planned Development.

The rezoning would allow Beaver Gravel Corporation to mine sand and gravel using heavy machinery for five years, while donating parcels of land to the Hamilton County Parks and Recreation Department in phases as work is completed. After the sand and gravel are extracted, the gravel pit would be donated as a lake to the Hamilton County Parks and Recreation department and another portion of the land would be used for a townhome development project.

It’s because of our community’s tireless efforts in the fall of 2020 that any due diligence was conducted by the project’s petitioner, and we’re thankful that the Hamilton County community now has more information about the risks the project presents.

The updated proposal contains some notable additions from the original, filed in the fall of 2020:

• The land is owned by CAB Real Estate, an entity tied to Beaver.
• The proposed project has been shortened to five years.
• A hydrogeologic assessment by Intera rates the risk of contamination to the local drinking water supply wells as moderate, unless a monitoring system is in place. If an adequate monitoring system is in place, the risk rating is low. However, low risk is not no risk, and we don’t want to risk any part of our drinking water supply.
• In addition to donating acres to the park, the petitioner also proposed building up to 27 townhomes in the non-floodplain acreage.

After reviewing more than 120 pages of public filing documents, Don’t Leave it to Beaver, a community action group, is still concerned about:

• The elevated contamination risk that the operation – proposed to be next to the White River in Noblesville – poses to Hamilton County’s drinking water, especially without proper oversight and monitoring;
• The increased industrial noise levels that may violate city noise ordinances for both park goers and nearby residents on Allisonville Road;
• The dust emissions and air pollution, along with environmental concerns for the wildlife in and around the White River, especially without oversight and accountability;
• The potential eminent domain issues that may arise with properties adjacent to the mining operation, because of auxiliary road lane proposals; and
• The precedent that the rezoning, if approved, would set for other industrial operations seeking to conduct business within dense residential areas subject to Noblesville’s United Development Ordinance, part of the city’s Comprehensive Master Plan.

More concerns are listed at dontleaveittobeaver.com.

Concerned citizens are encouraged to:

• Sign our petition online: Residents may also sign paper petitions from volunteers out on foot in neighborhoods in the next few weeks.
• Get in touch with your Common Council representatives and let them know how you feel. Find out who represents you on the district map.

Direct all comments and inquiries to stopbeaver@gmail.com.