After some resident opposition, the Gary Common Council suspended consideration of an ordinance that would allow for a wet processing system in the city’s Aetna neighborhood.
Council Vice President Darren Washington made the motion, and it was unanimously approved. Councilwoman Mary Brown, D-3rd, was absent from Tuesday night’s meeting.
The ordinance would give Reconstruct Aggregates, Inc. a special use permit for the facility on 4900-5200 E. 15th Ave. in Gary. The proposal previously received a favorable recommendation from the Gary Board of Zoning Appeals at a Nov. 13, 2025, public hearing.
The council’s planning and development committee previously looked at the ordinance during a Jan. 14 meeting.
According to the ordinance, the wet processing system would use water-based machinery to clean and sort soils, and remove dust and other materials. The recycled soils will be reused for local construction, which can reduce landfill waste, truck traffic and dependence on rural quarries.
The system would be allowed to run from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, according to Post-Tribune archives. Operators would have to obtain permits from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Site operators would also have to submit a formal drainage and runoff control plan to Gary’s city engineer.
Multiple Gary residents talked about the ordinance during Tuesday’s public comment.
Charles Alexander, a 43-year resident of Gary, said he opposes the wet processing system. He believes the development will hinder the Aetna neighborhood.
“We don’t need something that’s going to make our city — especially Aetna, which is revitalizing — any worse than it is,” Alexander said. “There’s no way that a sand recycling company can come into our community, be that close to our residents and recycle that sand.”
Dorreen Carey, president of Gary Advocates for Responsible Development, also opposed the ordinance during public comment. She thanked Washington for listening to residents and asking for more information about the wet processing system.
“We really need to know what type of material is being brought in, how the truck traffic will impact the community and whether the material will be allowed to accumulate on this property,” Carey said.
During the planning and development committee meeting, residents expressed concerns with city truck traffic because of the facility, and Carey asked for a traffic study. Scott Yahne, Reconstruct Aggregates’ attorney, said the facility can process 100 to 250 tons per hour, which he believes equals between five and 10 trucks per hour, according to Post-Tribune archives.
Yahne also said he doesn’t expect noise or dust to be an issue for neighbors. Residents were still concerned that the facility would be built near a residential area because of public health and potential soil contaminants.
“There’s been very little talk about the condition of the soil when it comes in,” Carolyn McCrady, GARD member, previously said, “and I think that’s really important because we don’t know what they’re doing to cleanse it.”