7.1 SR 02-22-2022 - Laserfiche WebLink

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From: Melanie Curtis <> Sent: Friday, January 21, 2022 3:04 PM To: Erickson, Amanda <AErickson@ElkRiverMN.gov> Cc: 'todd.curtis Carlton, Zachary <zcarlton@ElkRiverMN.gov> Subject: PC Agenda 1/25/2022 / Knife River CU22-10 Item 5.1 Planning Commission and Staff: I’m writing in response to Knife River’s recent request to expand the mining operation into the adjacent property as well as extend the timeline for mining operations. th As a daily user of 225 Avenue for over 16 years, I have observed that as the mining operations expand the level of truck traffic has also naturally increased. With the increase of traffic and use of the site, the negative impacts to the roadway and have increased. Quite often the roadway is covered with an accumulation of dust/debris/dirt and mud which creates environmental and safety concerns. I have shared my below comments with the city staff in the past and many of the past comments still apply today. Trucks/Number of trips: From a resident perspective, the number of vehicle trips to/from this property each day during the active season is unbearable; and some of the truck drivers drive very carelessly for example: rolling through or disregarding the stop sign at the site entrance as well as crossing 169 to get to the southbound side th without stopping at the stop sign at 225/169. This behavior is unsafe and reckless. The number of trucks going into and out of the site per day is unreasonable. During the active season, at any time in the day residents trying to access 169 may have to wait behind 3-5 side dump trucks to reach the intersection; and in that time 4 to 10 trucks may drive past entering the site. On a normal day, it th could take 15 minutes to get to the 225/169 intersection. From my past conversations with City staff, I know they have observed this traffic as well. According to one of the planning staff, traffic was identified as a concern when the pit was permitted in the early 2000s and there was a limitation placed on the number of individual trucks allowed to access the site per day. While this was a step in the right direction, the real limiting measure should have been a limit on the number of vehicletrips per day. th Debris/Dust: The road leading to/from the Knife River driveway onto 225is often covered in spilled th gravel, sand, and dirt from the trucks, and as a result of the trucks driving off of the shoulder of 225 to make the turn. This is often not cleaned up for many days and is a hazard. Additionally, the southbound acceleration lane to 169 is often completely covered in dirt/mud. This continues through the summer and creates a very dangerous situation for drivers. Not to mention is consistently inconvenient as we have all had to increase the frequency of washing our vehicles from the mud on the roadway, which is money out of our own pockets. Since my initial complaints to city staff there has been a skidsteer with a brush “cleaning” the roadway at times. This brush really just stirs up the dust and dirt and blows it around until it can settle back onto the roadway. We would ask for closer monitoring by the city on this matter. There must be a better solution. City Code section 42-78 talks about the safety requirements for access to the site and use of public rights-of-way. Section 42-53 specifically states the following: ”The council shall issue an extraction license only upon a finding that the proposed extraction activities will comply with the standards and requirements set forth in this article and will not be dangerous or otherwise detrimental to persons residing or working in the vicinity thereof, or to the public health, safety or welfare, and will not impair the use, enjoyment or value of any neighboring property. The council, in its discretion, may attach