Becker County Board approves mining permit for residential area on County Road 54 in Detroit Lakes

Detroit Lakes, Minn. (KDLM)- The Becker County Board approved a conditional-use permit to an applicant who wants to excavate sand and gravel in a primarily residential area on County Road 54, just east of Detroit Lakes.

During their Tuesday morning meeting, board members heard from concerned area residents who didn’t think hauling multiple trucks of crushed rock and sand was in keeping with their neighborhood, to which many had bought their homes decades ago.

One of those residents, Robert Horner, said, by his calculations, the amount of material the applicant is planning on hauling out, initially 250,000 tons over five years, would amount to about 18 truck loads per day, which is too much for their quiet community.

“Why should the rest of us, surrounded by this gravel pit, have to listen and hear about this for five years,” said Horner, during the meeting. “I didn’t move out of town to get out there and listen to that, nobody did.”

He also said, if the permit was approved, there would be residential parcels directly abutting the gravel pit.

“Bottomline, there’s a lot of people out there who have enjoyed the peace and quiet and the wildlife and the harmony with nature that you get when you live in a place like that,” he said. “And to have this dumped in the middle of it, literally, in the middle of a pile of houses is an unfortunate situation.”

The applicants, Colin and Jess Metry, stated they plan to build a home at that location once the excavation is complete.

Erica Jepson, commissioner for District 1, said, if the applicants hadn’t said they wanted to build a home on the site, she didn’t think the proposal would’ve ever been considered.

“The way it was presented at the planning commission was (the applicants stating) this is why we’re doing it, to create a home, which I support and I understand,” said Jepson. “But, 255 loads per week for five years is a lot. And I can’t support disrupting that community for that long at that amount.”

Ultimately, commissioners amended the conditional-use permit with additional restrictions and shortened the excavation time period.

Excavation hours will be limited to 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. The amount of material to be excavated was reduce from 250,000 tons to 150,000 tons and the time period for the permit was shortened from five years to four.

The measure passed on a 3-1 vote with Jepson representing the only vote against the measure. Commissioner Barry Nelson did not attend the meeting and did not cast a vote.