A sand and gravel mining operation in unincorporated Blackberry Township would be allowed to expand and include a concrete batching plant under special-use permits recommended Tuesday for approval.
Pending approval by the Kane County Board, Feltes Sand & Gravel Co., 1S194 Illinois Highway 47, would be allowed to roughly double its mining operation, to more than 212 acres, and add a 10-acre concrete Redi-Mix plant, based on the recommendation of the board’s Development Committee. The county’s Development Department staff and Zoning Board of Appeals also recommended issuance of the permits.
The mining operation, set on the west side of Illinois 47, a half-mile north of Main Street, has been in existence for about 30 years. According to Henry Stillwell, a Wheaton lawyer who represents Feltes, the expansion areas are expected to be mined out in three phases over 20 years.
Because of its location in central Kane, between Lily Lake and Elburn, the proposed operation is expected to reduce cross-county truck traffic by about 200,000 truck miles a year, Stillwell said.
Opposition to the plan from some owners of adjacent land has been mitigated with the planned extension of an earthen berm to screen the facility from view, he said.
