Letter to the Editor: Response to Quarry Developers

We’ve seen the B movies where the developer wants to construct something that is potentially harmful and tries to convince the people through embellishment, not disclosing the negatives and promising   financial rewards. 

It is my opinion that the script in the quarry-developer article needs clarification: (a) If approved, it can be used as a campground when circumstances change. (b) The developers previously said the usage is for RV owners who may want – are not required to – have a single-family home. Not vice versa. (c) Importantly, the developers note that when building something in someone’s backyard, only “backyarders” are generally not happy. The reality is that citizens across the county are placing hundreds of “No Quarry RV Village” signs voicing their outrage.

If developers desire their project to be based on “objective information,” then disclose the negative impact on tourism and county lifestyle. Tourists stop at Pinney to see the lighthouse, bay and majesty of the quarry escarpment. It is their introduction to the pleasures of Door County. They listen to the birds and are refreshed by the bay’s clean air.

Instead, with the development, the tourists will get to smell the sewage as it’s pumped on a projected daily basis from nearby holding tanks. They would see RVs, sewage trucks and buildings. They will hear all the sounds of a clustered RV park (vehicular noise, outdoor music, barking, landscape maintenance) massively amplified by the escarpment’s natural amphitheater.

Disclose the environmental impact. Solid rock is not a good water filter. The 50 acres of new landscape could cause runoff of fertilizers and residue of RV living. Fifty acres of night lighting would impact wildlife habitats. 

Does the curving of Bay Shore Drive at the access road present unexpected vehicular dangers to pedestrians and bicyclists?

This will end as the movies do. The community ultimately learns all aspects of such a project, and the elected and appointed officials will give this proposal the ending found in the B movies: thumbs down.

Dan Meyvis

Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin