Two county residents say Winneshiek County needs a better process to review conditional use permits

Winneshiek County residents Bob Watson and Steve McCargar met Monday with county supervisors to discuss what they feel would be improvements in the way applications for conditional use permits are handled.

Their suggestions especially involved changes that they feel should be made based on changes made to the Quandahl Quarry conditional use permit.  After the Planning & Zoning Commission and the County Board approved a conditional use permit for the quarry, Wiltgen Construction officials returned later to ask for five or six changes to the permit.  The Planning & Zoning Commission eventually created its own recommendation, one that allowed Wiltgen to quarry limestone for 15 working days a year.

Watson says the Planning & Zoning Commission did not allow the public to comment on the amended change to the permit.  "The community was closed out of this process."  He suggested that following any public hearing a "Neighborhood Advocate" should be allowed to speak to the Commission--the same way an applicant is allowed to speak to the Commission.

"This is a critique, but it isn't critical," said Watson, who added that he was making the suggestion because "People should have a voice."