Freedom Township delays gravel mine decision
Freedom Township board meeting, February 3, 2026. Photo credit: Keegan Sweeney.
by Keegan Sweeney
Freedom Township residents packed the township hall on Tuesday, February 3, to weigh in on the Freedom Township Planning Commission’s discussion on renewing a gravel mining permit in the area.
Stoneco is proposing that they reactivate a dormant gravel mine between Kothe and Esch roads on a 152-acre site. Several residents spoke out against the mine and many had questions about what it would mean for the safety and quality of life of residents in the area.
Currently, the commission is delaying their decision to approve the application as they discuss internally and communicate with the Washtenaw County Road Commission (WCRC) to determine the plan for the roads on Stoneco’s proposed hauling route.
At the meeting, residents raised concerns about noise level, dust, and road safety. If approved, Stoneco will extract millions of tons of material from the site over 12 years. They anticipate that trucks will make 54 to 108 trips per day while hauling the material on Esch Road and Pleasant Lake Highway, west to M-52.
This past fall, Stoneco submitted their application to renew a mineral extraction license for the parcel. The property was used in the 1970s for gravel mining and in the ’90s, the extraction permit was issued to Thompson-McCully (now Michigan Paving & Materials Co) which is now a part of CRH (the parent company of Stoneco).
A chief concern of residents are the roads. Residents at the meeting asked if Stoneco would pay to upgrade roads on the proposed hauling routes to support the influx of truck traffic that could potentially carry class-A loads. Because road decisions rest on the Washtenaw County Road Commission, the Planning Commission and Stoneco are awaiting coordination with WCRC to move further on the matter.
According to their application narrative, Stoneco states that they will make any necessary improvements to utilized roads if they need to haul class-A truck weights — but lean on WCRC for that decision. Bruce Paul, a resident of Pleasant Lake Road, is suspicious of this plan. He is also concerned about noise levels, pollution, and property value.
Paul says that he remembers when the current dormant mine was a sheep pasture. He said that 60+ trucks per day “will destroy the small road and create dust and noise galore for me and my neighbors” with the trucks “stopping and starting and driving in front and beside my house all day long.
“This peaceful area of the township would be drastically altered and home values drop apparently for the financial benefit of some big company whose employees and owners won’t feel the impact at all except for the money they’ll make,” Paul stated.
Freedom Township resident Craig Stockard has similar concerns about noise and air pollution, along with road maintenance. If approved, Stockard said that the mine’s crusher would operate 1,000 feet from his house.
Stockard recently organized a group named Freedom Township Concerned Citizens and sent a letter to every township board member on behalf of the group. Compiling 50 signatures, the letter raises questions and concerns about roads, property value, and the surrounding environment, among other potential issues. “Pretty much everybody surrounding and along Pleasant Lake Road signed this document,” Stockard said.
The letter claims that there are no plans for escalation/de-escalation lanes at the intersection of Esch and Pleasant Lake roads, noting that school buses would also travel amid the trucks.
The letter also raises concerns about the surrounding environment, claiming that contaminated water from cleaning the trucks could seep into the groundwater, contaminating well-water supply. The Planning Commission countered this claim, but Stockard and other residents at the meeting worry that aquifers and groundwater change over time, making their course difficult to predict.
“They [the Commission] are not looking out for the best interest of the residents,” Stockard said. One of Stockard’s main qualms with the proposal is that it is a renewal of a permit that was granted decades ago and that, according to Stockard, the current application includes details that were not in the original permit — which would warrant a new permit, not a renewal, according to Stockard.
Preserving trees was also raised as a concern. Stockard claimed that workers “pre-logged” the area last year, removing “heritage trees” (significantly old, irreplaceable trees), purportedly to make their approval process a smoother one now and asserted that upgrading Esch Road to support class-A loads would require the removal of more heritage trees, barring them from making the upgrade. Stoneco would carry class-A loads anyway, skirting the requirement to upgrade the road, and that inevitable repairs would come out of residents’ tax dollars, Stockard argued, and stated, “They have a fiduciary duty to act on behalf of the residents and they’re not.”
Jillian Hayes, a resident of Freedom Township, is concerned with how the proposed mine might affect her parents’ business — which boards horses across the street from where the mine would operate. “We are very concerned with how this may impact our existing business and the homes surrounding the mine site. The planned haul route along a narrow, dirt road lined with homes and farms also raises concerns. … I worry how this is going to impact road quality and safety,” Hayes stated.
This isn’t the first time residents in the broader area have fought against mining plans. In neighboring Sharon Township to the north, residents coalesced and decried a proposal to build a similar mine. The Sharon Township Board ended up denying the proposal, fighting a Stoneco lawsuit in court, and winning the battle in December of 2024.
In Sharon Township, Stoneco proposed to convert 400 acres of farmland into a gravel mine. Stoneco argued that the township disregarded evidence that the mine would have supposedly had minimal environmental impact, and that the township was not complying with zoning laws — and that the decision violated their property rights.
The final ruling stated that the board acted within legal authority, basing their decision on adherence to their master plan.
Similarly, in nearby Norvell Township of Jackson County, more than 100 residents are currently organizing to fight a proposal for a mine that would be developed next to Watkins Lake State Park and Preserve.
If the Freedom Township Planning Commission denies Stoneco’s proposal, they will most likely face a similar, drawn-out legal battle. During the meeting, the Commission cited state pressure to approve the proposal, brought on by the Michigan Zoning Enabling Act. The act states that an ordinance “shall not prevent the extraction, by mining, of valuable natural resources from any property unless very serious consequences would result from the extraction of those natural resources.”
Included in the so-called “very serious consequences” are projected impacts on property values, pedestrian and traffic safety, and “other identifiable” health, safety, and welfare interests of the local government.
At the commission meeting, Freedom Township resident Channing Hutchins raised questions to the Commission while protesting Stoneco’s application. Hutchins lives on Esch Road where trucks would be frequently hauling material. “How many gravel pits in Freedom Township have asphalt roads?” Hutchins asked at the meeting. “Both of them,” the board responded. “Point number one,” Hutchins said, referring to Esch Road being a class-B road.
He also emphasized the environment of the land itself. “It’s like a nature preserve back there,” Hutchins said. “It’s beautiful.”
“You can’t even sit on your front porch and have a cup of coffee when you’ve got this gravel truck in front of your house. Come on. That’s ridiculous,” Hutchins said. “Let’s say all of this goes through. What is Stoneco gonna do for us?”
The planning consultant on the Commission argued that the gravel extraction benefits the broader region due to readily available materials for construction. Jill Schultz, Vice President of Communications at CRH, responded to a request for comment, echoing this sentiment.
She stated that the property “contains aggregate materials that can be used to construct roads, bridges, homes, buildings, schools, hospitals, and other community structures.”
Regarding potential dangers to residents, Stoneco enlisted a third-party organization to conduct an environmental impact assessment on the site and deemed the mining operation safe in terms of noise, dust, groundwater, and road usage.
“We include several measures for mitigating noise, dust, and vibration. The permit details how Stoneco is committed to following the local ordinances, state regulations, and other laws/regulations that are applicable. Stoneco works with the road commission and the township to ensure all road and traffic standards are met safely,” Schultz stated.
The Freedom Township Planning Commission’s next meeting is on March 3 and as of early February, Stoneco’s application will be the main item on the agenda. The Planning Commission meets on the first Tuesday of every month at 7:30pm at the township hall.
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