It’s important to see how other communities handle these land use permits, especially those communities close by.

While the situation in Packwaukee isn’t exactly the same as it is here, we have a final report by them that shows the impact of the proposed sand mine. It’s 63 pages long, but worth a read. There are fewer home properties in Packwaukee than in Scandinavia and Iola, but there is a sub-division nearby and the study showed that all homes within a mile would lose property value, with those homes within a quarter mile losing 23 percent in value.

Oh, and this sand mine was defeated in Packwaukee.

Again, the proposed sand mine here has 11 buildings within 500 feet, 43 homes/properties within a quarter mile and a total of 220 homes/properties within a mile. We need to find out if the percentages are similar in Scandinavia and Iola or if property values could drop even further here. And if the assessor says they won’t drop at all, then that should be known, too. Both sides should be willing to wait for that information to come before doing anything else. Nothing can be done until all of this is known here in Scandinavia and Iola.

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