TOWN OF EDEN (NBC 26) — A crowded meeting was held in the Village of Eden Monday night to discuss a proposed expansion of a waste removal and demoliton company.
Gueligs Waste Removal and Demolition has operated in the area since 2004, and is now seeking a rezoning to allow for a bigger footprint.
“We just keep growing,” Kate Guelig said at the meeting. “People have to get rid of their garbage, they have to get rid of their recyclables.”
But some residents in the area said they're worried that the expansion will result in air and water pollution, and that the expansion will turn the area into a landfill.
“If that water is contaminated, where is the wildlife going to go?” Larry Beachy, who lives near the property, said at the meeting.
Other residents accused Gueligsof burning harmful substances, such as painted wood, asbestos and garbage. The company denied that, saying they only burn plain wood.
Guelig said the company is in the process of obtaining a permit from the DNR to continue to burn wood, and said they have stopped burning until they receive the new permit. She also said they have had inspections from the EPA and the DNR regularly throughout their years in business.
“We’re not running illegally," Guelig said. "I take great offense to that."
In order to expand, the village must approve a rezoning of a section that is currently designated as "farmland preservation area."
According to the town’s attorney, Matt Parmentier, drone photos show that Gueligs has been storing items and taking down trees in the preservation area since 2020. Parmentier called that an illegal use of the land.
“The main goal of the Farmland Preservation Program is to preserve farmland,” Parmentier said at the meeting. “In order to preserve farmland, the state has created these standards that have to be met, in order to rezone any property out of Farmland Preservation."
Eden is predominantly zoned as Farmland Preservation, so some community members worry that denying this request will deter future development.
“I just would hate to see Eden not be able to grow,” Troy Vanderhoof, a local resident, said.
The next meeting for this issue will be March 16.
“I grew up here, I’ve been here for 61 years, I raised my kids here, I have my relatives here, this is our home,” Guelig said.
