Supervisors approve conditional use permit for sand quarry on Canoe Valley Road

Winneshiek County supervisors have voted 4-1 to approve a conditional use permit for a sand quarry on property on Canoe Valley Road owned by Mark Quandahl and operated by Wiltgen Construction.

There were 11 conditions attached to the permit.  They include a limitation on the size of the quarry; limitations on the hours of operation and the number of trucks; requirements for dust control; and notification requirements for any blasting done at the quarry.

But several conditions suggested by the Canoe Valley Residents Association were not approved by the county board.  Supervisors rejected a request to limit the hours of truck hauling to 8:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. weekdays, instead approving the 7:00 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. hours suggested by the County Planning & Zoning Commission.  They also set the monthly limit of truckloads coming out of the quarry at 600, rejecting the residents association's suggestion of a limit of 300 loads a month.  

Several supervisors worried about setting a precedent for restrictions on future quarries.  "Do we want such extensive regulations?" asked County Board Chairman Dean Darling.  But supervisor Bill Ibanez, who voted against the conditional use permit, said county supervisors consider applications on a case by case basis.

Monday's vote by the Winneshiek County Board gives Wiltgen Construction one year of operation of the sand quarry.  Wiltgen then would be allowed to apply three times for five-year extensions of the conditional use permit.