Gravel reversal riles neighbors

MAT-SU — The on-again, off-again operation of a controversial Mat-Su Borough gravel mine are on again after the borough’s Board of Adjustment and Appeals reversed a planning commission denial of its operational permit.

“The BOAA concludes that the planning commission erred in denying the permit without competent substantial evidence, but partly based on what could be considered hearsay testimony of interested parties,” the board says in its July 16 written conclusions.

In essence, the BOAA found that the planning commission denied the operating permit for Northern Gravel and Trucking’s operation off Buffalo Mine-Moose Creek Road based on the emotional testimony of residents rather than facts. The board writes that the testimony provided “no factual information or expert testimony … to support the claims made by interested parties that the granting of the permit would be harmful to the public health, safety and general welfare.”

While the decision ends the borough’s process for dealing with the gravel mine’s permitting process, it brings little comfort for neighbors, who say they fear the operation’s owner, James Baxter of Anchorage, won’t address their numerous safety concerns.

“Holy cow,” said Wayne Martin, who lives near the gravel pit. “I guess I’ll start out with the biggest beef I have in this whole thing. This guy blatantly doesn’t follow the rules, he cusses out the borough code enforcement officer. The guy doesn’t follow the rules, and he proved it and even rubbed it in their faces. The biggest thing for me is the borough would put up with that.”

The BOAA decision includes permit conditions that require Northern Gravel and Trucking trucks to come to a complete stop at the intersection of Mike’s Lane and Buffalo Mine-Moose Creek Road, to obey speed limits, and not to operate on Sundays. But Martin said “is not going to matter.”

Those are a few of neighbors’ main complaints, but because Baxter has not followed the rules before, Martin said he’s confident the operation will continue to ignore borough regulations. The BOAA ruling also includes a condition that the mine use flaggers at that intersection to make sure its safe, especially during times when kids are dropped off and picked up by school buses.

“I throw my hands up in disgust,” Martin said. “The bad guys win, and that’s what (ticks) me off. Now, the way if feel toward the borough is they’re all corrupt, evil and I have a huge dislike for the Mat-Su Borough right now.”

While his neighbors may be disappointed with the BOAA reversal, Baxter said he was surprised.

“You’re always surprised, because you can look up in history that with any appeals court, they usually uphold decisions,” Baxter said.

While the reversal of the planning commission’s May decision means he can resume operations, Baxter said the delay has come at a financial cost. He said because he didn’t have a permit, he lost a number of contracts, including two with the state and two with the Municipality of Anchorage, that total about $1 million. In light of the BOAA’s decision that the planning commission was in error to deny his permit, that’s money Baxter said he expects to recoup from the borough.

“I lost several contracts because the commission did not approve that when they should have back in May,” he said. “I’m going to go after the Mat-Su Borough now for those lost profits, and it’s clear in that appeal they erred. They cost me right at $1 million in contracts.”

The issue of Northern Gravel and Trucking’s permit came up late in 2012, when it was discovered the company was operating without a valid permit. Northern had operated from 2010 to September 2012 on a borough administrative permit, and the borough was a customer. While the borough received numerous reports from neighbors that Baxter was continuing to operate the pit throughout the winter without a permit, officials “have not been able to catch him in the act,” borough development services manager Alex Strawn said before the May planning commission meetings.

Although people living along Buffalo Mine-Moose Creek Road have some legitimate concerns, the borough simply doesn’t have jurisdiction over what happens on a state-owned road, said Joe Welliver, a planner in the borough’s development services division.

“The operator may not have been the best neighbor,” he said. “We did our best knowing we didn’t have much teeth or jurisdiction to deal with bad driving or other … public concerns.”

He also said he understands the frustrations of neighbors.

“We can write conditions all day long, but enforcing them is something else,” Welliver said.

That sentiment provides little relief for the mine’s neighbors, Martin said. He said he knows of one couple who is so fed up with the situation they’re moving. It’s the same couple that had retained legal representation for the neighborhood. Without them, Martin said, it seems unlikely residents will try to challenge the BOAA’s decision in state court.

“It’s not going to matter,” he said of the general attitude of residents. “I don’t want a gravel pit in my driveway or nearby, but I’m pretty pro-development. I’m for building infrastructure and moving forward with any project we can, but this is the wrong guy to be running this gravel pit.”

In the mean time, Martin said he will continue to monitor what have been his two main gripes in the debate — speeding trucks and operating on Sundays, both of which conditions of the permit prohibit.

Contact Greg Johnson at 352-2269 or

greg.johnson@frontiersman.com.