Granite Excavation hosted a voluntary neighborhood meeting Wednesday night to discuss the proposed 393-acre Merrill's Pit gravel project in Emmett, bringing developers and divided neighbors face-to-face.The Merrill's Pit plan wo uld mine the area for 20 years before leaving nearly 40 large-lot home sites and reclaimed ponds.Dusty Hibbard, vice president of Granite Excavation, said neighborhood meetings are standard in the construction industry for housing developments, but Granite decided to hold this one voluntarily for the gravel pit to provide education and clear up miscommunications."Our hope was that we could bring the concerned citizens together and discuss some of the issues, discuss some of the things that are hot topics," Hibbard said.Watch to learn more about the voluntary neighborhood meeting. Emmett neighbors and developer meet face-to-face over proposed 393-acre Merrill's Pit gravel projectHibbard said attendees asked good questions about the project's impact and its long-term vision."Everybody was very respectful... they had a lot of really good questions. We talked about dewatering issues. We talked about well issues. We talked about berms... and then once it's done, what the end result would look like," Hibbard said.Hibbard said his goal going into the meeting was that if 100 people attended, at least fifteen of them would walk away with answers they valued but after the meeting, he felt they reached more than that.However, some neighbors remain strongly opposed. Emmett neighbor Tamara Peccorini said the long-term vision doesn't show what the pit will look like while mining is actively happening, calling the post-mining housing plan misleading."I am not happy at all regarding their straw man effect here of showing what this could be in fifteen to twenty years," Peccorini said."I'm 58. That means that when I'm 78, I might have houses next to me... I think that is pulling the wool over people's eyes. It's not showing what it's going to look like for the next 15 to 20 years," Peccorini said.Peccorini moved to Emmett from Canyon County to build her family's "forever home." She said she did her due diligence before buying, including reading the county's comprehensive plan and driving every side road in the area. She said the property she bought was zoned rural agriculture.Peccorini said the listing agent for her property who was also the property owner and developer failed to disclose that he had knowledge the adjacent property was targeted for gravel mining. She also said the county's 2012 gravel overlay map was not included in the 2023 comprehensive plan she reviewed before purchasing.She voiced frustration with the county, saying leaders haven't planned well for where industrial mining operations are allowed, especially next to residential areas."The fact that the county can approve homes, and when I say homes, million-dollar homes right next to what is going to be almost a 400-acre gravel pit... I don't think that is ethical," Peccorini said."I think nobody would want this in my backyard... this is in my backyard," Peccorini said.Peccorini clarified that her anger is not necessarily directed at Granite Excavation, but at the county process that allowed this to happen. She said she spoke with a Granite representative last August and asked what he would do in her shoes."He goes, I'd be doing exactly what you're doing," Peccorini said. "This is a normal human response to something when you have put your life savings into a property."Other neighbors see the project as an economic benefit. Emmett neighbor Mike Pryor said he attended the meeting after receiving an invitation in the mail because he was curious about the timeline for the gravel pit and the future home sites."I know that they want to expand the gravel pit, and I think that's great," Pryor said.Pryor said the pit would benefit local residents."I think the project's great. I think it creates a lot of jobs for people in Emmett and, people don't have to leave the valley to go to work, and I just think it's great," Pryor said.For neighbors who oppose the project, Pryor offered a blunt assessment."I think growth is coming, and they need to accept it. There's nothing... there's no way to stop it now. It's rolling," Pryor said.Hibbard emphasized that Granite Excavation is a local company, not a worldwide corporation, and wants to remain accessible to the community as the process moves forward."We're native Idahoans, but what I also mean by that is so is the company," Hibbard said."We want people to come knock on our doors... and we wanna be able to solve their issues if we can," Hibbard said.The conversation will continue at Gem County's next public hearing, scheduled for April 6 at 6 p.m. at the Gem County Annex. Doors will open at 5:15 p.m., and space will be limited. ...read more read less