Press Release: Noblesville citizens demand the Noblesville City Council reject a gravel pit rezoning request near hundreds of family residences.

For Immediate Release: October 9, 2020
Contact: stopbeaver@gmail.com

NOBLESVILLE CITIZENS DEMAND THE NOBLESVILLE COMMON COUNCIL REJECT A GRAVEL PIT REZONING REQUEST NEAR HUNDREDS OF FAMILY RESIDENCES

Noblesville, IN– Noblesville residents, organizing as “Don’t Leave It to Beaver,” are encouraging their common council representatives to deny the special rezoning request from Beaver Materials for a gravel pit next to Potter’s Bridge Park, the historic Potter’s Covered Bridge, and hundreds of nearby single-family residences.

Currently, this land is zoned as “R2-FH” (Residential/Flood Hazard), and the land owner and Beaver Materials are seeking to change this land to “R2-FH/GUO” (Residential-Flood Hazard/Government Use Overlay) for the extraction of sand and gravel along roughly 50 acres of land located in the 19200-19500 block of Allisonville Road on the east side for ten or more years.

Don’t Leave It to Beaver organizers and Noblesville citizens opposing the gravel pit will converge outside the Noblesville City Hall building on the nearby public sidewalk on October 19 at 5 p.m. until sunset for a peaceful protest. During this time, city zoning officials will be meeting to discuss the zoning request during the Plan Commission Meeting at 6 p.m. All who oppose the gravel mining operation are encouraged to attend the protest.

Organizers are petitioning the Noblesville community to sign a petition outlining the concerns for the health and safety of our community, infrastructure, and environment. So far, the petition has gathered over 1,000 signatures in less than 24 hours. The community is also encouraged to contact their common council representatives.

“This is going to be a disaster area for 10 years,” said Karey Bredemeyer, a Realtor who lives in the Potters Woods subdivision, which contains 140 homes. “We didn’t build here to be next to a quarry. I can’t imagine trying to sell a home here when trucks are driving in and out of there all day.”

Chief among the concerns is the lake that would be left behind by the mining company. Touted as a great community addition to the Potter’s Bridge Park after ten years of mining, gravel pit lakes are inherently more dangerous than normal lakes or ponds. Steep underwater drop offs, unstable shoreline ground, and plummeting water temperatures could result in tragedy.

“My concerns are not only due to the air, noise, and water pollution that we will deal with as the gravel is mined for ten years,” said Traci Preble, a resident of Potter’s Woods, “but also the danger of the pit in respect to the young children that live around it and use the park in the following years.”

Based on Noblesville’s average wind speed, a known lung carcinogen – silica dust – can travel up to four miles, which could affect some 6,600 students at five Noblesville schools within a 2-mile radius of the proposed gravel mine.

Don’t Leave It to Beaver believes mining aggregate stone near hundreds of homes just north of Noblesville’s historic downtown in an established wildlife corridor is a bad choice for our community. The effects of the gravel pit will have long-lasting implications for the families in the area, for the community at large who love and use Potter’s Bridge Park, and for the local ecosystem that relies on the White River.

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To be added to press updates, email stopbeaver@gmail.com.

Twitter updates featuring community concerns will be present at twitter.com/StopBeaver

To add your name to the growing movement that opposes this gravel pit, sign the online petition at change.org. You will be required to attest your residence within Hamilton County, Indiana.