This is just the first step of the process, but it is a very critical one. Next Wednesday, the Scandinavia Town Board takes a similar vote on the same three questions with Gary Marx presiding as Town Chairman. He mentioned that all three town board members were present at last night's meeting and thus a vote will be taken based on all of the facts that were presented at that meeting. It would be a surprise if the results weren't similar.

Then both recommendations are forwarded to the Waupaca County Zoning Committee, which will make the final decision. That meeting will be set up 30 days after the decision arrives from the Township, so likely July at the earliest. The five Zoning Committee members will get all of the documentation from the Township along with their recommendations before making their final decision. There is no guarantee that the county will go along with the Town's recommendation, but it is common for the county to respect and follow the municipalities' recommendation.

The three pertinent questions that decided this permit application were:

1. What are the existing use(s) of adjacent lands to this parcel and are they compatible?

2. Is the proposal consistent with the Town Comprehensive Plan?

3. Is the proposal consistent with the Town Goals, Objectives & Development Strategies as found in the Town of Scandinavia Comprehensive Plan?

The board decided that the existing use of adjacent lands were not compatible with this land, especially since seven homes bordered the land and were within 500 feet of the sand mine. Because of the 500 foot offsets of those seven homeowners, the available land to mine was shrunk by half.

The board found many areas where the permit was not in compliance with the Scandinavia 2030 Comprehensive Plan. As Marx emphatically stated, the Comprehensive Plan is more than just a guide, it's the foundation of these land use decisions.

Marx again cited many examples from the Comprehensive Plan where the permit was not consistent with the goals and objectives of the Plan. The residents surveyed in 2006 wanted to protect the environment, protect groundwater and were opposed to sand mines by a 59-11% margin.

The vote to deny the permit was then taken and the meeting adjourned with a lot of emotions flowing from the packed room of 80+ people.

Then on Wednesday, May 10th, the Scandinavia Town Board met to vote on the permit and again it was a unanimous decision to deny the permit to Faulks Bros. and the Iola Car Show. All three Town Board members — Chairman Gary Marx, Frank Bauer Jr., and Bryan Fuhs — voted against the permit. It was a quick 20-minute board meeting with only Greg Ambrosius speaking on behalf of the residents and John Faulks speaking on behalf of Faulks Bros.

Both recommendations have now been forwarded to the Waupaca County Zoning Committee, which will make the final decision on the permit. It would be unprecedented for the county to overturn the decision made by the municipality, but EVERYONE is encouraged to attend that meeting and voice their concerns over this proposed sand mine. There will be a public forum available at this meeting and concerned citizens will have a chance to speak to the county board. No date has been given yet for that board meeting, but we will post it here once it is known.

See you there.