Faulks Bros. and the Iola Car Show have a partnership for 11 years

By Greg Ambrosius

Courtesy No Iola Sand Mine Facebook Page

The Waupaca County Board of Adjustment unanimously approved the Faulks Bros sand mine permit on the Iola Car Show grounds today by a 5-0 vote on Friday, Oct. 25.

The five board members walked through all 28 requirements from Waupaca County Ordinance Chapter 34, the Non-Metallic Mining ordinances, and the Farmland Preservation Act and approved each and every one. There were healthy discussions on each of them, but only three requirements didn’t get a 5-0 vote in favor of Faulks.

The CUP would be denied if just one requirement was not met by the Conditional Use Permit. The first three requirements in Waupaca County Ordinance Chapter 34.14.5.1(b) were the three requirements that spurred the most debate. They included the loss of property values and whether the mine would “be appropriate in appearance with the existing or intended character of the general vicinity, and that such use will not change the essential character of the same area such that the use will substantially impair or diminish the use, value or enjoyment of existing or future permitted uses in the area.”

They took a straw vote early and were to come back to this later, but the 3-2 vote saying it would not reduce property values or reduce the enjoyment of our homes held up at the end. The permit admittedly was not in compliance with the Township of Scandinavia Comprehensive Plan (the Faulks lawyer said that), but again by a 3-2 vote the members said the Plan hadn’t been updated since 2007 and it was just a guideline that could be over-ridden with conditions from the staffers. This decision really makes all Comprehensive Plans in the state as useless as the paper they are written on.

The board really struggled with the Farmland Preservation first requirement and could not state how this mine is consistent with the “purposes of the farmland preservation zoning district”, but when they determined that it would be back to farmland 11 years from now that one passed 5-0. This is a Conditional Use Permit and the decision should have been based on the mine during those 11 years.

There was no way that three of the board members were going to do anything but find a way to approve this permit. That was obvious from the start. Faulks and the Iola Car Show now have a partnership for the next 11 years in the Township of Scandinavia to mine sand in this location. Whether it remains confined to this area is an open question since the staffers did not include one condition that limits this permit to just this location.

Thanks to everyone who supported our cause and felt the laws would hold up. This is now the reality for this community for the next decade and beyond.