Hunt/Midwest Quarry Zoning Board Hearing
Monday, April 18

As Sierra Club members, we are concerned about big corporations that damage the environment. The Hunt Martin LLC (formerly Hunt/Midwest) is one such corporation that has a quarry near De Soto , Kansas . We have worked with Sunflower Neighbors Group which has had a long history of struggle with this quarry and is in the final steps of the process to stop the quarry's devastation of the landscape.

We need your help to show opposition to the Hunt Martin Sunflower Quarry application for a conditional use permit by writing a letter or appearing at the Zoning Board Hearing . The application is going to the Northwest Consolidated Zoning Board on Monday, April 18 th at 7:00 p.m. in the Johnson County Administration Building , 111 S. Cherry in downtown Olathe . Please enter the building by the east door and a county representative will direct you to the meeting room. Please mark your calendar and plan to attend this important meeting!

• The quarry application went before the Northwest Consolidated Zoning Board (ZB) on June 8 and July 19, 2004 and they voted 4-1 to deny the conditional use permit.
• On February 24, 2005 the quarry application went before the Johnson County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC). The Commissioners voted to send the application back to the ZB with specific items of reconsideration and that the application must return to the BOCC within 120 days for a final vote.
• The items for reconsideration :

• Sunflower Neighbors Group (SNG) has fought this current application for a conditional use permit since 2000, has won three times in court (twice in J.C. District Court and at the KS Supreme Court), has consistently shown that the quarry operation is not compatible with the following adjacent properties: Kill Creek Nature Park, Kill Creek Streamway Trails, the future parkland and development of Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant land, Kill Creek which flows into the Kansas River (a major source of drinking water), and rural (10 acre minimum) residential development.
• The quarry has been operating without a conditional use permit (CUP) since January 2001, has been "ticketed" everyday (M-F) since November 2003 for violating county regulations for operating without a CUP and blasting without a permit since January 2004. The quarry is operating on Saturdays and Sundays, too, but the county does not have a codes officer to issue tickets on the weekend!
• The quarry destroyed 125+ acres of natural landscape, created a barren pit 100 ft deep, and reclaimed only 11 acres with minimal ground cover/grass. The current quarry operation is an area larger than Ernie Miller Park ! The quarry representatives promised the county in 1990 (for first permit) to disturb only 25 acres at a time.
• The quarry application is requesting the expansion of the operation by 179 additional acres.more than double the current acreage bringing it closer to Kill Creek Nature Park , farther north and south along Kill Creek, Kill Creek Streamway Trails, and SFAAP land future parkland and development.

This is a large project that affects many aspects of Northwest Johnson County . Only a few points have been addressed here. Please go to www.kansas.sierraclub.org and click on "Hunt/Midwest Quarry not compatible with parks and creek" under the picture of the quarry for more photos. Then click on "article April May Planet Kansas " for more factual information and reasons for our opposition to the quarry!

Since this is an extremely important issue that affects the natural environment and future of the Northwest portion of Johnson County , it is imperative to have a good sized group of supporters for public speakers at the meeting. A large group of people will send a clear message of our opposition to the quarry to the ZB. Please encourage friends and neighbors to attend the April 18 th meeting. Please share this message with other groups and listservs and help us spread the word about this critical meeting. The Zoning Board will vote to approve or deny the CUP and send their recommendation to the BOCC. The BOCC will make the final decision on the quarry in May. The end of the long struggle for protecting Kill Creek, public lands, parkland, streamway trails, and the natural environment is in sight. Please help finish this effort with a strong showing of public support!

J.C. Planning Staff is recommending that the topics of the public comments be limited to the items of reconsideration or new information. They will recommend that the public comments be limited to 3 minutes per person.

Please consider writing a letter to the Chairman of the Northwest Consolidated Zoning Board. The letter could be as simple as stating your request for denial of the conditional use permit. Or, you could go into more detail using one of the topics from the article on the quarry at the website www.kansas.sierraclub.org . Please remember to state in your letter or public comments that you are opposed to the quarry operation and are requesting denial of the conditional use permit . To contact the Chairman of the NW Consolidated Zoning Board, please send your correspondences to:

Mr. Calvin Hayden
Chairman of the Northwest Consolidated Zoning Board
Johnson County Planning, Development, and Codes Department
111 South Cherry
Olathe, Kansas 66061

Thank you for your interest and involvement. We hope to see you at the April 18 th Northwest Consolidated Zoning Board Meeting at 7:00 p.m. in the Johnson County Administration Building , 111 S. Cherry in downtown Olathe !