So, I did some research.
The term NIMBY was first used in 1980, so it is a relatively recent word used to describe people who oppose certain land developments in or near their homes, such as landfills, garbage transfer facilities, commercial developments (ie Walmart), etc. However, the term has grown in the last decade to describe people who do not want ANY development and has been used in a more negative way. Hence the two emails.
Let's just clear something up. We are opposed to a GRAVEL PIT being created on the land. That's it. Plain and simple.
The area adjacent to Fox Trails is zoned for residential. We would like to keep it that way. So if Meyer wants to sell the land to a developer....by all means, they have the right. We knew that land was zoned residential when we bought our home 5 years ago and would not oppose such use. (As it stands...Meyer also knew that land was zoned residential but now want to change the law)
A residential development would benefit all of Cary so much more than a gravel pit. Let's look at the statistics:
- The gravel pit would generate only $170 a year or so in real estate taxes per acre. This is why Meyer has offered the village a "donation" of $250,000 a year for the length of the extended use permit.
- A single family home generates over $5000 in real estate taxes on 1/4 of an acre. So, you put up homes and real estate taxes generated by those homes are over $24,000 for an acre of land.
So perhaps we are No Gravel Pit in Our Back Yards type of people.
But we wouldn't want one in your backyard, either.
12 comments:
So Bruce and Cheryl says they are not NIMBY's. Kind of ironic if you think about it...
I have lived in Cary all 29 years of my life and my parents also grew up in Cary. I have seen all the changes take place throughout the years. What do you expect to happen if you live near open land? I think the people of Cary should have protested the building of the Fox Trails subdivision at the time it was built. Then at least we wouldn't have to listen to you complain about a gravel pit in your backyard.
Where do you think the concrete came from that was used to build the foundation of your house or the sidewalk and curbs out front? My guess is a local gravel pit.
You say it would be better for Cary to build another subdivision instead of a getting a few dollars from a gravel pit. I say build the pit!! A pit will bring in fewer cars to the area than a subdivision (but a few more trucks and I bet you complain about the traffic already), no additional streets for the village to spend money on plowing and maintenance, fewer streets for the police to patrol, etc. So the village would actually have more money in the long run if a gravel pit were built. Give the pit 10 or 20 years and it will most likely be a park. Remember, the Hollows and Lake Julian were both gravel pits at one time. Take a look at Vulcan Lake next time you sit in traffic on Rakow Road...that was a gravel pit too.
By the way, I have no association with Meyer or anyone related to the decision process. I am just tired of all the new people coming in and complaining about everything around them. I say BUILD THE PIT!!
Mike,
You asked, "What do you expect to happen if you live near open land?"
There's an easy answer. We expect the land to be used for its zoned purpose---residential. The land just to the west of the parcel that Meyer wants to mine is zoned commercial and also resides in Cary. Do you think people will want to put in stores next to a rock pit?
Cary will benefit more from developments that fit the current zoning law.
By the way, a development would not necessarily bring more traffic to Cary-Algonquin Road as access to that new subdivision would most likely be via route 31.
BTW, Lake Julian has been a trout farm since 1937. So, if it was a gravel pit it was during a time when there were few people living in the area.
We don't need anymore houses in Cary as the town won't benefit from any new housing. We all know property taxes will just increase along with taffic. I am sure any new subdivision built on the property would connect into Fox Trails and Rt 31... that means more traffic on 31 AND Cary Algonquin Road. Remember, more houses equal more traffic...plain and simple.
Don't forget that zoning CAN change. The village really could use $250,000 a year for doing nothing and some day the land will be a lake or park. Oh by the way, there were people around here when Lake Julian was a gravel pit. How do you think their foundations were laid?
I may not have an issue with the quarry if Meyer was up front with us. The quarry south of the proposed quarry was supposed to be turned into golf/park area (area where I live). This has not happened.
Also - quarries sometimes become garbage dumps. Having another quarry in the area increases the chances of living next to a dump.
Keep it residential.
If you will send me links to new posts (from the comment page), I'll be happy to put up articles on them.
I have an article about your web site up now on McHenry County Blog.
Mike, how much money do you stand to lose because of the gravel pit? Did you purchase a home in an area where you were told mining was not allowed? Are you aware that close proximity to dust particles are a leading cause of early-onset childhood asthma and other breathing problems, per the New England Journal of Medicine?
You people make me laugh. You act as if a gravel pit is the end of the world or it's a nuclear power plant that is going in! For one, if your so worried about your kids getting respiratory problems, keep them in the house with a HEPA filter that filters everything out the air! You will not get silicosis(from breathing silica dust as you put in your little flyer at cary days) from a sand and gravel quarry. For one, they are not crushing the rock, they are simply sorting it using shakers and sives and WATER. Secondly, to get silicosis, it has to have a high percentage of SILICA in it. Most of the sand and gravel in the area doesn't have that high of a concentration of silica in the minerals themselves. Thirdly, most of the mining will most likely be dragline anyway, which is not that loud. It's not like you are living next to a rock quarry where they are blasting and crushing stone all day long. Mike is correct in saying that more homes will actually cost Cary more money in streets and police etc. Did you know that Meyer was planning on donating the land back to cary once it was completed along with 30 acres of land along Route 31 for retail usage? All Cary has to do is sit back and collect sales tax! You are aware that we have absoultely no retail now right? Hence the redicuolus taxes we pay! As Dan's comment about a dump...there are regulations against that. You have to have extensive studys done to get a garbage dump put in these days and consisdering the water table as high as it is and Cary's water wells being so close, they would NEVER happen. The traffic that would come of that pit wouldn't even be noticed on Route 31 as most of the mineral mined would be shipped via convayor belt under 31 to the their main plant. So where is all this dust and noise coming from? Your arguments hold no water. I agree with Mike, build the pit! Cause if we don't LITH is looking to annex the land and they will ALLOW them to mine it! It's been talked about. Cary likes to donate land to LITH and CL. Look at the holiday inn, that was owned by Cary and they didn't want to pay for the water and sewer to be brought in, oops! Big sales tax maker went right out the window.
So I haven't been on here in awhile. I saw a whole bunch of illegally posted "No Pit" signs around town this past weekend and thought I should stop by here. Anyway, well said Sand Box.
To answer anonymous' questions, I don't stand to lose any money because of the gravel pit. How much do you plan to lose? I can tell you I hope to gain a recreation area once the pit is completed. Also anonymous, isn't the earth MADE of dust (generally speaking)?
Someone also mentioned in one of the posts that Cary spent all this money on a sewer extension to that land. If I remember correctly, that sewer was shot down by trout valley not letting Cary go thru their "town". There is no water or sewer extension extending past the Fox Trails property line.... Though someone can correct me if I am wrong.
By the way, before someone complains about my illegal sign comment, Cary DOES have an ordinance against posting signs/advertisements within the village on public right of ways.
Good point mike! I'd like to know why Cary hasn't ripped down the illegal signs? I know that they ripped down the sign of my contractor redoing my roof because "they can only post the sign while they are working". At least that is the ONE good thing cary is good at. ha ha ha. Dig the PIT!
Okay, sandbox. I'll bite.
According to the petition, Meyer will have a stone crusher on the site--crushing stone and then tyransporting via converyor NOT under Rt. 31, but under Klasen to the their pit south of Klasen. It is an open conveyor so people living on Bayberry who thought their pit was just about done will now get have their pit extended in time and additional dust andnoise from a conveyor that stretches for 1 MILE past their houses.
Secondly, access to the land for retail or residential would come from Rt. 31, not Cary-Algonguin Road. Hoffman park successfully has blocked access from the East.
Secondly, there may be regulations against a dump, but that doesn't mean that they are enforced. After all, the mining industry in this state is basically self-regulated. It would be up to Meyer to notify the IEPA when they are in non-compliance. And, as testimony has shown in other areas in McHenry County, pits have not only been used for dumping garbage, but also for shooting ranges.
Now, I am not too concerned about Silica---but PM10 dust is very real and that is a by product of the type of pit Meyer wants to build.
Bruce,
glad to have you bite :) I'm very fimilar with epa regulations as they relate to mines and landfills. There has been new regulations passed almost two years ago relating to this very subject. It is highly regulated and watched by the epa since the govener went after his own father in law about illegal dumps. Yes, in the historic past (about 1940 though 1970's) gravel pits in the mchenry county area have been used as trash pits (one is actually along Virgina road where they plan on putting the transfer station). However this practice will never happen again in mchenry county. I'm sure people would be noticing garbage trucks dumping in a quarry and epa would shut it down in seconds. However I'm not too fimilar with PM10 Dust. BUT I will say that the most dangerous thing that we are exposed to each and every day is Benzene. This carcinogentic chemical is the main ingredient in gasoline. You know that sweet smell you smell when filling your car...that's benzene! You should be more concerned with gas stations and dry cleaners using percloroethene (perc) versus dust. Unless you're sitting in the pit breathing the dust clouds, chances are very slim you'll be effected by it. You'll have a better chance of getting cancer from the benzene in all the gasoline you've pumped over the years. I'll be at the hearing tomorrow to hear everything. But I enjoy your site. I'm glad to see people concerned about topics like this. I wish you luck in your fight. It's hard to fight "big gravel" though considering that this county is very rich in sand in gravel due to our unique geology.
Meyer Material requested a modification to a lifetime permit for construction in 2003 for McHenry County. A hearing with the IEPA was conducted in Crystal Lake. In that testimony, the IEPA admitted that they only do on-site inspections once every 3-4 years. They only inspect more if there are numerous complaints filed.
In addition, the IEPA has several divisions---bureau of water, a bureau of land and a bureau of air---that check gravel pits. However, they admitted in this testimony that there is very little coordination among the departments. In essence, each department has no idea what the other does or has done.
Furthermore, the IEPA admitted that it is up to the mining company (when it comes to gravel pits; they may be more stringent with other types of mines)to self-regulate. That is, in regard to this request by Meyer, the IEPA stated that it was Meyer's job to notify the IEPA when they were in "non-compliance" of permits or laws.
And, it turns out, they were in non-compliance at a pit because they did not notify the IEPA when they added new equipment to the site. They had been in non-compliance for years and the IEPA admitted at that meeting that they were unaware of it.
That's what I mean when I say self-regulatory. Even in regard to the petition Meyer has for Cary---it is Meyer who checks the water and it is Meyer's job to alert the Village if something just happens to get into the water supply. Therefore, something can happen to the water and it may be a long time before the public knows about it. If Meyer doesn't notify Cary, then whatever is in the water wouldn't be known until an official water test.
That just doesn't seem right to me.
Post a Comment