RICHLAND TOWNSHIP, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Community members gathered to voice their opposition to a proposed gravel pit operation in northern Kalamazoo County.
A public meeting was held by the Richland Township Planning Commission on Wednesday, February 26th to discuss the project.
The owners of the property earlier submitted a mineral extraction request to remove the resource from the location last year, and the planning commission has held a multi-month public comment period to hear feedback from the community.
Representatives from Liberty Farms LLC and Top Grade Site Management said the goal of the operation is to extract gravel from 27 acres of land south of M-89, with remediation efforts included to cover up damage from the unearthed rocks.
At a previous township meeting in January, members of the public voiced anger over the project that could potentially bring noise pollution and lower the property values of surrounding residents.
Several of them made mention of the project’s “very serious consequences”, the criteria by which the planning commission could deny the application for mineral extraction.
At the most recent meeting, the owners of the property and management company representatives said that the noise created during excavation would be minimal. They additionally noted that gravel was a crucial resource for construction and road projects, and despite the number of mines totaling 19 in Kalamazoo County it remains an easily exhaustible resource.
The proposed work would involve around 20 trucks a day to transport gravel, removing hundred of tons of the material over a five to ten year period depending on resource amount. Each 10 acre parcel that was mined would then be replaced with topsoil from the next set of acres during the lifespan of the facility.
A similar gravel pit proposal was declined by the Richland Township Planning Commission after residents brought similar concerns to attention in 2016.
