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Gardner Settles with Quarry Owners

The Town of Gardner has approved a settlement agreement with Scott Franda and his mother, Robin Franda, that permits them to operate a limestone quarry off Stevenson Pier Road.

Town of Gardner supervisors gathered Saturday morning at the top of the quarry’s entry road to approve the agreement prior to a tour of the operation. Supervisors Glen Merkle and Glenn Dart said ‘no’ in the 3-2 vote. They, and several residents who were also present, thought the tour should come before the vote. Gardner Town Chair Carl Waterstreet said it couldn’t be done that way.

“A walk-through is part of the settlement,” Waterstreet said. “We need to approve the settlement, then we do the walk-through.”

Although Merkle said he cast the dissenting vote because he wanted the tour to come first, Dart said he objected to more than just the process.

“I don’t believe we need another pit,” he said.

During Saturday morning’s Town of Gardner board meeting, Charles “Buck” Sweeney (white shirt, left), attorney for the quarry owners, talks about the limestone quarry operation that will begin soon off Stevenson Pier Road. Matt Franda (leaning against the vehicle, far left) and his brother, Scott, will quarry the site. Photo by D.A. Fitzgerald.

After the settlement agreement was adopted, the Frandas’ attorney, Charles “Buck” Sweeney, of Axley Attorneys in Madison, gave an overview of the operation and stressed the Frandas’ desire to work with neighbors. 

“I think it’s a good resolution for everyone,” Sweeney said. “Nobody’s completely happy, and that’s usually what happens when you have a settlement. It’s not favorable for either side, but it’s better than the alternative because we worked together to come up with the solution and resolution.”

The settlement agreement requires the town to issue a nonmetallic mining permit to Franda to quarry the site. The permit will be considered “grandfathered.” If the Frandas were to sell the quarry, a new owner would need to go through the town’s permitting process, said the town’s attorney, Tyler Pluff of Pinkert Law Firm.

Neighboring residents have resisted the quarry since they first learned of it in September 2020. They’ve been concerned about noise, air and water pollution; damage to wildlife habitats; and the erosion of their quality of life. Their concerns were not actionable, however, because the town does not have zoning to control land uses and did not have a mining ordinance that would have regulated quarries. 

Residents persuaded the town to remedy that, and in November 2020, the board adopted a nine-month mining moratorium on new or expanded nonmetallic mines until an ordinance could be drafted to regulate future quarries.

On March 10, the town adopted its nonmetallic mining ordinance. Shortly after, Waterstreet handily defeated incumbent chair Mark Stevenson in the April election. On June 3, the town filed suit in Door County Circuit Court to enforce its ordinance against the Frandas, requiring them to get a town permit for the quarry.

By then, the Frandas had acquired the necessary permits from the state and county to quarry limestone from the site for the next 20-40 years. They claimed they were, therefore, already in production and therefore exempt from the new mining ordinance. The town disagreed. Door County Circuit Court Judge David Weber encouraged the parties to settle.

The settlement agreement gives the town authority to revoke or suspend the permit if the Frandas breach the agreement’s conditions, which address some dust control, hours of operation and a prohibition on crushing or blasting on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. The Frandas must also begin the quarrying operation at a distance of greater than 500 feet from the nearest neighboring residential property lines.

The Frandas and their attorney answered questions about blasting, crushing, dust, noise and water quality throughout the tour. They had marked the site to show the pit’s parameters. The pit would be farther than 500 feet from the closest neighboring property line. 

The home of Dave and Kelly Pizzala can just be seen from the quarry site across this land. The quarry owners will plant fast-growing trees for additional screening as part of a settlement agreement with the Town of Gardner. Photo by D.A. Fitzgerald.

Across the distance, Dave and Kelly Pizzala’s home could be seen from the site. As part of the agreement, a couple of fast-growing trees would be planted for screening. Dave Pizzala asked if they were intending to quarry in a direction closer to their home. Matt Franda said that depended on how the rock went.

“They have to chase the rock,” Sweeney said. “That’s the asset.”

The Frandas will build a berm and begin blasting within a week or two from Saturday. The blaster is required to install a seismograph at the nearest home to measure the vibrations, and all neighbors must be notified before blasting begins. It will be completed within two days, Scott Franda said, opening the pit enough until spring 2022.

“He’s going to get me enough to get going,” Scott Franda said.

The agreement calls for a meeting between the Frandas and the town board at least once a year to review any complaints. The Frandas encouraged residents to call them before that so they could work to resolve issues as soon as possible.

“If we can do something to address neighbor concerns, we want to modify our approach to do that because we want to be good neighbors out here,” Sweeney said. “That’s our goal.”