Sawyer County zoning committee denies Todd's Ready Mix rezone after extended public comment; CUP tabled

The Sawyer County Zoning Committee on July 15 recommended denial of Rezone 26-012, an application from Todd's Ready Mix (Matthew Construction) to reclassify about 80 acres from Residential Recreational 1 to Forestry 1 to support a nonmetallic-mineral extraction operation, including a rock crusher. After public comment and applicant presentations, the committee voted 4–1 to deny the rezone and then tabled the companion conditional-use permit until the county board considers the denial recommendation.

The applicants presented maps, a phased operations plan and a reclamation plan and said the requested change would be a geographic expansion of an existing pit. Tristan Gardner of Matthew Construction summarized the proposal and stressed it was an expansion, not new net output: "It's a CUP requesting a geographic expansion," and said the application includes a 50-foot setback from an internal wetland and a reclamation plan that envisions passive recreation as the post-mining use. The company asked the committee to negotiate conditions on noise, setbacks and reclamation rather than reject the application outright.

Residents and property owners strongly opposed the rezone during a lengthy public‑comment period. Dennis Erickson told the committee the change would create a "moonscape" and claimed the crusher moved closer to homes would damage quality of life. Several speakers said they can already hear crushing operations; others raised concerns about dust, heavy traffic, wetlands, incomplete reclamation on past pits and potential property-value losses.

The applicant's technical witness, Candy Anderson, cited multiple studies and her agency experience and told the committee she found no empirical evidence of long‑term property devaluation from nonmetallic mining operations: "I did find several studies showing that there is no devaluation of properties." Company representatives also said operations would generally occur seasonally, with crushing concentrated in a few weeks each year, and estimated a working life in the order of two decades.

Committee members framed the vote around the county's comprehensive-plan goals and the findings of fact required for a rezone. The motion to deny cited concerns that the proposed rezone would not protect property values or conserve soil, water and forest resources and would not be compatible with surrounding uses. Roll-call results recorded at the meeting were: Kaye Wilson — yes; Ron Buchholz — yes; Jim Evans — yes; Steve Longtime — no; Steve Cariannon — yes. The tally produced a 4–1 vote to deny the rezone.

Because the conditional-use permit application depended on an approved rezone, the committee debated whether to continue the CUP hearing. The applicants requested the chance to add expert evidence to the record, but the committee concluded the rezone decision made the CUP procedurally moot and voted to table consideration of the CUP, the plan of operations, and the reclamation plan until after the county board reviews the zoning committee's recommendation.

Next steps: the zoning committee's denial will be forwarded as a recommendation to the Sawyer County Board of Supervisors. If the county board overturns the zoning committee's recommendation, the committee indicated it would then proceed to hear or take action on the conditional-use permit and associated reclamation plan; otherwise the CUP remains tabled.