Homeowners in the Montana Creek area have filed an appeal to overturn a Planning Commission decision to approve a rock crusher proposed for their neighborhood, a D3 zone.
The City and Borough of Juneau Planning Commission approved the permit for a rock quarry and crusher on April 10.
Montana Creek residents Peggy and Rich Mattson stated in email interview they and many of their neighbors are concerned the Coogan permit is too permissive and would allow crushing on an expanded scale.
“Forty-one neighbors signed the appeal opposing Coogan General’s gravel pit and rock crusher permit,” the Mattsons said. “The Planning Commission and the Community Development Department staff did not apply the City Code correctly in allowing a rock crusher in an area zoned D3.”
City code, the email said, requires permits for rock crushers to accompany a municipal public construction project and must cease operation of the crusher mush cease at project’s end. The approved conditional use permit does not meet these criteria, they said.
Montana Creek homeowners also said a rock crusher is out of place as previous Assembly decisions have made their neighborhood increasingly residential.
Lloyd Coogan, a partner in Coogan Construction, said the entire permit for sand and gravel removal and screened, crushed material rests on approval of the crusher.
The city already supplies a regular pit run in Juneau, Coogan said. To compete with existing crushed rock suppliers, Coogan said, his business requires onsite crushing.
“No sense in having a permit if you can’t crush,” Coogan said. “There is not that big of demand.”
And that lack of demand is why Montana Creek homeowners need not worry about noise issues.
“I can’t imagine there being more than 100 hours of crushing a year,” Coogan said. “A couple weeks worth of crushing throughout the whole summer.”
He said barriers and trees at the site limit sound and said his operation would be similar to an existing gravel business that operates near his office.
“It’s not like they are crushing after hours,” Coogan said. “There are strict parameters on when we can crush.”
The next step, the Mattsons said, is hearing with the City and Borough of Juneau Assembly Committee of the Whole on Monday.
As a quasi-judicial body, commissioners are prevented from discussing permits that may require commission action, one potential path of the appeal.
Coogan’s permit application is listed as SGE20110003, A Conditional Use Permit for sand and gravel extraction activity along Montana Creek Road at the West Glacier Borrow Pit Lot 1.
For more information about the sand and gravel conditional use permit application visit www.bit.ly/IDXTGV and www.bit.ly/z7ECZz for draft minutes from the April 10 Planning Commission Meeting.
• Contact reporter Russell Stigall at 523-2276 or at russell.stigall@juneauempire.com.
Comments (16)
Add commentI'm still not clear
On why Coogan got this permit. Is he paying the city for the materials he removes from the quarry or does he pay something like rent to the city? Why did the city just give the OK here?
ANSWERS PLEASE!!!
I don't live near the crusher but I'm sure curious why Coogan gets special treatment.
Reminds me of another fast backroom deal on a tram
Loyd is one of the most
Loyd is one of the most ethical contractors out there. Yes he is about making a profit but he is also concerned about doing things right.
All of this could have been avoided!
I agree with "fireguy".
All this drama and personality assassination would have been avoided if the planning commission had done their job initially.
Perhaps new lines in the sand are being drawn, as we watch.
Not in my
back yard crap again , it was ok to run a crusher when all the house's were being built in the montana creek area but not now eh! They crushed materiel out there for about 10 years in the 80's an 90's so whats the problem? Bunch a whiny morons.
And of course....
...Ruth Danner had NOTHING to do with this appeal. Sure.
Coogan is a first class guy.
Lloyd has always been an outstanding member of our community. We need more people like him. He will get the job done and get it done right.
Juneau needs sand and gravel. We really do. He is providing a service that we need. If it is not needed I assure you he will not crush gravel for the sheer fun of it.
So lets cut a good man some slack. He is a reasonable man.
Maybe we should be more reasonable too.
MamaT
MamaT - Please explain why Coogan would pay rent to CBJ to extract gravel from property they own?
This entire neighborhood is mostly NIMBY's. I remember them trying to shut down the rifle range. I also remember them demanding F&G kill bears. Both those things were there long before any of them. It doesn't matter what anybody wants to do, that neighborhood will fight it.
Hey Cayros, MickyToo, Grim & MamaT
Now your trash talk includes not only Mrs. Danner, but an entire neighborhood! Wow, it must be freeing for each of you to hide behind your "pen names".
There is an appeal process in play, and it does not matter who brought it. The existing appeal process will determine the outcome.
crusher
We have lived in the Montana Creek area for longer than many of the homes that are currently there. We have no issue with the crusher. I can think of some other annoyances that nobody cares about - in particular, the late night/early morning street racing that starts just after the bridge, heats up by Montana Creek Road, and really gets up to speed past the campground. It gets really fun when two or more are doing this and thrilling when the roads are icy!
Oh, by the way, shouldn't we start a petition to get rid of that annoying campground? All those tourists with their gas guzzling RV's going in and out at all hours of the day and night! And their noisy kids and dogs - people really need to go away and be somewhere else away from my castle.
And, yes, this is sarcasm. I am amazed at the attitudes of some of my neighbors.
I dont mind the crusher so much
Its the non-stop, start at 5am and run till dark jake braking dump trucks making the turn off Backloop onto Montana Creek road and then listening to them grind through the gears as they head to the crusher......
Coogan
I am sure that Mr. Coogan is an outstanding and conscientious business man.
That is not the point. The point is that the City is, once again, not following its own rules, and nobody seems to care to explain why – beyond saying that the rules don’t have to be followed if no one officially complains through the appeal process.
That is unacceptable in my mind and I am glad that an appeal has been filed.
Incidentally, if, “there is not that big of demand” then what is the point?
In other news...
In other news, residents around the airport are preparing a petition complaining about (gasp) aircraft noise.
Good Ol' Coogan. I remember
Good Ol' Coogan. I remember back in the mid 90's when they were building the New school in the Valley. The local union would send drivers to work there and just before they git the hours needed to be hired on permanently, they would be laid off. We were better off working for Bicknell.
I could probably be more tolerant
If we could somehow convince those alleged truck drivers that Jake Brakes are generally not needed on flat ground...
Yep!
Yep, whine, whine,whine.........morons !
It sounds like a very vocal
It sounds like a very vocal minority that have the major issues. It looks like there is a compermise to be had. Restrict the hours and lay off the jake brakes.
We all spend too much time complaining. I got mine and to heck with everyone else.
@ silent majority & christian
"MamaT - Please explain why Coogan would pay rent to CBJ to extract gravel from property they own?"
Good to hear he owns the property...my question is why did the city allow him to violate ordinance? What does the city get out of it? What is the benefit to the people of Juneau?
So far the question's been asked numerous times and the only response I’ve seen is diverting the conversation to the appeal process, what a great guy Coogan is, and how the people asking are whiners. Why not a straightforward answer?
It is my guess that the permit was approved because no one imagined there would be resistance and now that there is...someone doesn’t want to take responsibility for bending the rules
@christian
"Now your trash talk includes not only Mrs. Danner, but an entire neighborhood! Wow, it must be freeing for each of you to hide behind your "pen names".
I'm not trash talking by asking a question and it appears you also use a 'pen name'. Could it be you have a double standard?
Please explain what you find trashy about my post...I'm a little confused....