Sioux City City Council approves grading permit along 28th Street

SIOUX CITY (KTIV) - Sioux City leaders have approved a grading permit for a project that nearby landowners say is causing “irreparable” harm to their property. However, the city council added some conditions to the grading permit for Lieber Construction.

Last week, Russ and Rick Bertrand voiced their concerns to the city council over Lieber’s dirt work at a site along 28th Street near the Highway 20-75 bypass.

They told the council that the 175,000 cubic yards of dirt that Lieber is piling up on that land is impeding their underlying aquifer. The Bertrands claimed the weight of the dirt forced water away from the well on their property causing it to go dry.

Monday night, council members considered the evidence from the Bertrands, and from Lieber Construction, and voted 3-to-0 to allow the grading permit with conditions. Mayor Bob Scott and Mayor Pro Tem Dan Moore abstained, and did not vote.

”I would move to affirm the decision of engineering to allow a grading permit with the condition that any future dirt to be moved to the site not be within 50 feet of the Bertrand property, and dirt that has been put there be moved to the 50 feet margin,” said Alex Watters, City Council Member.

The council also reversed the city engineer’s “stop order”, which allows grading of the property at 5515 28th Street, to continue.

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