Hortonia residents push back against quarry expansion, fill town board meeting

HORTONIA — Tim Manion, of Hortonia, stood before a packed public meeting on Tuesday, voicing fierce opposition to the proposed expansion of a local quarry.

He compared it to a failed youth prison project, proposed by Gov. Tony Evers in 2019 and canceled in 2020 following community backlash . Manion was a part of that battle, and now he means to fight again. And this time, it’s within 1,500 feet of his home.

“It’s right in our face, right in our backyard. It impacts so many things,” Manion said to the more than 40 participants, including town board members and representatives of the quarry operator.

Charles Sweeney, an attorney representing the operator, MCC Inc., an Appleton-based construction and aggregate materials supplier, reassured the crowd, saying: “We want to work with this town. We want to work with the residents. We want to be a good neighbor.”

The quarry's proximity to residential homes and farmland has sparked ongoing tensions between the company and neighbors. Many voiced strong opinions against the expansion, raising concerns over blasts, potential drops in property values, and the loss of rural charm.

The public hearing marked a critical moment for the community, as residents grappled with the reality of the proposed quarry expansion and the lasting implications for the community. The town’s attorney, Matthew Parmentier, also told the audience that this public meeting would be the last one before a decision is made by the town board.

Proposed quarry expansion is as vast as 100 football fields

MCC purchased the New London Quarry, located between U.S. 45 and Ledge Hill Road in the town of Hortonia, in the late 1960s, and it’s operated since then, said Susan Courter, a consultant hired by MCC, during the public meeting.

The quarry supplies rocks and other aggregate products for construction and infrastructure projects in Northeast Wisconsin, Courter added.

In July, MCC filed three applications with the township, with an intent to expand the New London Quarry. Since 1988, MCC and the Black Creek Limestone Company, its real estate arm, purchased eight parcels totaling 129 acres — a mix of farmland and residential land adjacent to the existing quarry, according to documents reviewed by The Post-Crescent.

MCC intends to apply “non-conforming uses” or “grandfathered uses" status to the newly purchased parcels, said Parmentier. This would allow the company to continue operations on the land, despite any zoning changes that typically address evolving community needs.

Sweeney, on behalf of MCC, said during the public meeting that the quarry needs to stick to the non-conforming uses because it started operating before there were any zoning regulations.

However, the town board disagreed with MCC’s approach, insisting that the company should apply for a zoning reclassification of the acquired properties for the expansion, Parmentier said.

For neighbors, cracks keep opening

For residents living near the existing New London Quarry, the blasts have become disruptive to their daily lives.

Ryan Clark, who has lived on Shady Acres Drive for the past four-and-a-half years with his wife and two daughters, said MCC blasts vary — ranging from once every two or three weeks to six times a week — and usually occur in the mornings.

“I’ve had things rattle right off my table when the blasting happens,” said Clark. “The noise levels are high. We hear conveyor systems running at all hours of the night. We hear backup alarms from the equipment.”

Beyond the physical disturbances, the constant noise and vibrations have caused stress among nearby neighbors. He said his house has extensive cracks throughout the foundation and floors. The damage is evident in multiple areas, and he is concerned that the proposed expansion, located less than 200 feet from his house, could negatively impact the stability of his property.

In the applications reviewed by The Post-Crescent, MCC uses the vibration data it collected between January 2019 and May 2024 and concluded that the vibrations were 0.1899 inches per second on average, so none of the blasts come close to the legal safety limit of 2.0 inches per second.

Property owners within 1,500 feet of the quarry who wanted notifications in advance of a blast can put in a request, according to the applications.

“You are using data, but you’re not using the people that live super close,” said Nathan Waldvogel, who also lives on Shady Acres Drive and hears blasts all the time. “MCC should really do more for the community of all these people that live in that proximity.”

As MCC continues to pursue its expansion, many residents worry the frequency and intensity of the blasts will only further strain their quality of life and drive down their property values.

Discussion turns to conditional use permits, blasting operations

The quarry has been operating without a conditional use permit (CUP) for its blasting operations, said Manion during the public meeting.

In Hortonia, the quarry operates thanks to a zoning tool called a “quarry overlay district.” This district supersedes the existing zoning of the properties, such as those zoned for agriculture. However, to engage in blasting, a quarry must still secure a CUP, Parmentier said during the meeting.

Manion said he had inquired with both MCC and the town board regarding the permit and found no evidence of its existence.

Sweeney confirmed during the public meeting that the operator is now applying for a CUP with the town.

“We’re open to those discussions to make sure that we minimize the impact on the residents,” he said. “Our goal is not to make everybody’s life miserable here.”

Christopher Holtkamp, an expert in small-town planning and an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, told The Post-Crescent that the move indicates the town’s efforts to exert the zoning authority and impose certain restrictions on the quarry’s operation.

In February, MCC built a 20-foot berm to serve as a sound and wind barrier for nearby properties. However, the berm is located 50 feet from the road, which falls short of the town ordinance requiring a distance of 150 feet, Manion told The Post-Crescent.

Economic growth or rural character? Hortonia faces a defining choice

The quiet town of Hortonia finds itself at a crossroads, torn between the potential for economic growth and the desire to preserve its rural charm.

The proposed expansion of the New London Quarry has sparked debates among residents. In a letter to the Town Board, David Lathrop who lives on Cross Road in New London, just north of the quarry, said he praised the quarry for its role in providing essential materials for the State 15 upgrade and for housing developments that have replaced farmlands. Lathrop also said MCC has employed locals, and his relatives worked for the company in the past.

But for many, growth comes at a cost. Manion said MCC is a big money-making corporation, and that most people who work for the quarry don’t live in Hortonia.

“They might not be interested in the neighbors. They haven’t provided any goodwill to the neighborhood,” he added.

For Manion and many other affected residents, what is being lost is the rural identity of the town, an idyllic community of 1,000 residents with farm fields, woods, and abundant wildlife.

Hortonia is their home, and they wanted to maintain its rural character.

Holtkamp of UW-River Falls said he sees these conflicts as part of a larger trend in rural areas. Balancing economic development, job creation, and maintaining rural lifestyles is a challenge that small towns across the country are facing, he added.

“It is our home, and we are the ones that can speak out and say, ‘no, we don’t want it,'” said Dan Mercer, who co-chairs the grassroots organization, "Citizens for the Preservation of Hortonia", with Manion. “The board, or these boards, are representatives of us.”

The town board has opened the floor to public comments through Monday, with a final decision expected in the coming weeks.

Zhen Wang is a business reporter for The Post-Crescent. Reach her at zwang@gannett.com or 920-993-7117.

This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Hortonia residents push back against quarry expansion, fill town board meeting