Construction company stirs complaints in town

The Town of Saukville Plan Commission requested last week that a construction contractor apply for a conditional use permit for the business he had been operating out of his residential property.

Jason Gahan had been running a construction company with an employee and several pieces of heavy machinery, including a skid loader and dump truck, generating complaints from neighbors in the Deerfield Drive area.

They complained of frequent loud noises from the large trucks, the damage they were causing to the road, as well as the simple fact Gahan was running a construction company from a small residential lot.

Town Chairman Kevin Kimmes said on Tuesday that the issue with Gahan’s business is the result of a misconception — that because residents live in the Town of Saukville instead of the village, it is the “wild, wild west,” and residents can do anything they want with their property.

Kimmes said that businesses operating on residential properties that generate loud noises, have employees, store equipment and materials or otherwise disturb neighbors are at risk of being shut down.

“If people are trying to run a construction business from a residential property, then if it doesn’t look like a single-family home because you’re burning debris or have equipment stored, then you’re running the risk of having your business shut down by the town,” he said.

Kimmes said that businesses that don’t disrupt neighbors or become too noticeable can be operated as home businesses.

For example, a person who runs a one-man landscaping company out of his home, driving a truck and a wood chipper out in the morning and coming back in the evening, will likely not have an issue, Kimmes said.

“That is so unobtrusive it is unbelievable,” he said. But businesses, even on larger 5-acre residential lots, cross the line when equipment is stored on the property, multiple large vehicles get used each day and scraps are burned.

“Five acres is not a lot of area for the amount of noise construction businesses can generate,” Kimmes said. “There is a place for that called industrial parks.”

The town has conditional use permits to put guardrails on town businesses, Kimmes said.

“I look at permits like a double-edged sword,” he said. “You have to state exactly what you are doing and then you get the right to do that. But then, you’re stuck to only doing that.”

Kimmes gave an example of a business that was shut down by the town.

“We had another guy try to do that with a tree removal business,” he said. “He was removing trees and selling the good wood and then burned the brushwood. Then, he had people driving by to buy wood.”

The town requested that Gahan provide exact details about his business, including its hours of operation and the number of employees, and seek a permit.

The town had not received a permit request from Gahan as of Tuesday.