A Woodstock-area gravel pit proposal that received strong opposition from neighbors has been withdrawn.
The petitioner, Jack Pease of Super Aggregates, informed Woodstock officials Tuesday that he was withdrawing his request for city approval, City Manager Roscoe Stelford confirmed Wednesday.
The pit was proposed for the corner of Lily Pond and McConnell roads near Woodstock. The land is unincorporated, but part of the proposal was to annex the property into the city.
The city’s Plan Commission had taken up the proposal in a lengthy meeting in January that was moved from City Hall to the Opera House across the street to accommodate all of the attendees. The meeting was at times contentious, and at one point a break was called in an effort to calm the crowd.
The commission had been scheduled to take another look at the porposal in June after Pease had asked for more time. In a letter to the city, Pease wrote he asked for the delay to gather more professional information and complete on-site work, among other reasons. The delay would also give residents and officials an opportunity to visit the existing pit after May 15, when the facility will be seasonally operating, he wrote.
During the January meeting, Pease had also offered the public a chance to tour of the pit.
But when reached Wednesday, Pease said he now plans to keep the property farmland for the time being and revisit what to do with it at a later date. He said he’s working with the city and that Woodstock is eager to see the land developed. Pease envisions the property for residential, rather than commercial, development. The city’s comprehensive plan identifies the site as “single-family neighborhood.”
Pease owns the property, which is currently farmland, and he also runs a gravel mining operation adjacent to it, on the other side of the railroad tracks.
Pease said he withdrew his gravel pit application to focus on winding down gravel excavation operations at the existing pit and converting it to an office/business park. He plans to focus on getting sewer and water utilities out to the site and constructing two buildings for the business park this year. Pease said the plan for that pit was always to convert the property into a business park.
He added his company tries to be nice, responsible neighbors and he doesn’t want to mine the gravel then leave a hole behind. He said that has happened with pits in the Algonquin and Lake in the Hills area.
Pease said he has office parks in several area communities, including Richmond, McHenry and Hampshire, among others.
Buildings in Woodstock will be similar to ones in McHenry, like the one where Kim and Patty’s Cafe is located, Pease said. He said he was trying to fill a void with the business park and the market is stronger for commercial properties than residential ones.
Neighbors have been against the proposed pit for several reasons, including proximity to residential areas, perceived health and environmental issues, noise, truck traffic and the belief it could negatively affect property values.
Resident Pete Riis said Wednesday the neighbors were “kind of surprised” Pease withdrew the petition. Riis said the neighbors were happy with the news but would stay involved with things happening on the existing pit on the southern side of the railroad tracks.
Elsewhere in the area, Pease is proposing a pit in the Spring Grove area that has also raised opposition from neighbors despite officials not formally reviewing it yet. The county’s staff plat review committee is expected to review the petition next week.