Update: Greg Coulthurst contacted DoorCountyDailyNews.com to clarify that no date has been set for a hearing on the quarry. It must occur between October 28th and November 25th, 30-60 days after the initial request.

The Town of Gardner's Board held its October meeting Wednesday night with over an hour dedicated to a proposed quarry on Stevenson Pier Road. Among those in attendance for public comment were dozens of residents, First District Representative Joel Kitchens, and District Four County Supervisor Kara Counard. Gardner has a comprehensive plan, established in 2009, but does not have a zoning board and is one of only three townships where county zoning does not apply. Laid out in that document is a line item stating Gardner will actively discourage nonmetallic mining. Chairman Mark Stevenson says that without a zoning board, the town has no enforcement mechanism regardless of the principles laid out in its guiding document.

Residents in attendance were almost unanimously against the quarry development. They included homeowners in a subdivision that neighbored the site to the south and orchard owners located across the street. They made several requests, including for a resolution by the board expressing its dissatisfaction with the mine. Kitchens said that he believed the council had the authority to place restrictions on the project through a conditional use permit even without zoning at the town level. Supervisor Counard suggested a course of action that could be binding.

Stevenson said he would have to seek legal advice from the Wisconsin Towns Association on the matter, but a moratorium was used in the past regarding a trailer park site. Door County's Soil and Water Conservation Department will have a public hearing on the matter at a future date. Residents at the meeting asked the town board to seek a delay of that meeting until some of the issues raised on Wednesday can be addressed.