Gravel pitowner seeks special use permit to expand operations on Rt. 47 south of Elburn

ELBURN – Lafarge Aggregates Illinois Inc.’s proposal to expand its gravel mining operation along Route 47 south of Elburn raised more questions for village officials than answers.

The Village Board on July 1 considered Kane County’s request for comment on Lafarge’s request for a special use to mine sand and gravel on an additional 148 acres to the north and east of its current US LafargeHolcim mining operation at 1S194 IL Route 47.

The Kane County Board of Appeals will consider Lafarge’s request to expand its special use permit to mine sand and gravel on land currently zoned agricultural at its upcoming meeting at 7 p.m. on July 9.

Because the property is outside of Elburn’s current corporate boundary, the jurisdiction for granting the special use is in the hands of the county. But because the location is so close to the village, the county asked for its input.

Elburn officials are about to revisit the village’s future land use plans, which will include consideration of land outside the village’s current boundaries. Trustee Pat Schuberg wondered how these plans might impact the village, although Village Administrator John Nevenhoven said he would be more concerned if the expansion were to come north of Rowe Road.

Trustees brought up other concerns, such as an increase in truck traffic, and  requested that the entrance to the site be limited to Route 47 and not allowed on Rowe Road. With the potential future widening of Route 47 to four lanes up to that area, trustee Sue Filek and others said they wanted to make sure there was enough right-of-way set aside to accommodate that possibility, as well as to provide sufficient setbacks to somewhat buffer the current nearby residential area.

Trustee Bill Grabarek said that water will continue to become a bigger issue going forward, and with a major aquifer close by – around Main Street Road – he wanted to know how far down Lafarge will have to dig to reach limestone, and how it might impact the water supply in the area.

“It’s going to be a hunking big thing when they’re done,” he said.

Lastly, Schuberg said that although there was a list of nearby residences to the potential expansion included in the petition, it did not say if those residents had been notified of Lafarge’s plans.

“We still have a lot of questions,” trustee Sue Filek said.

Several Blackberry Township commissioners present said they also had a number of concerns regarding the potential expansion. Commissioner Tim Norris mentioned that when the gravel pit was first opened, the owners were pretty conscientious about reclamation of land where the mining had been completed, but that more recently, that has not been the case.