Asphalt hearing underway in Madison County
Paul Moon
The Citizen-Times
A hearing to determine whether a proposed asphalt plant gets the local permitting needed to operate near Marshall's town limits will stretch into at least one more night. The Madison County Board of Adjustments recessed their April 22 and 24 meetings without a decision on whether to grant the conditional use permit needed to setup an asphalt manufacturing and recycling facility inside the McCrary Stone Service quarry on U.S. 25-70. The hearing is scheduled to continue May 6 at 6 p.m. inside the Madison County Courthouse.
Supporters and opponents of the project filled nearly every seat inside the gallery of the iconic 1907 building before proceedings began shortly after 6:30 p.m. April 22. While a Madison County Sheriff's Office deputy demanded all signs be removed from the chamber, neon shirts with the logo of French Broad Paving – the family-owned company seeking to build the plant under Madison Asphalt LLC – and pins stating "No Asphalt Plant" signaled where individuals stood on an issue that has attracted the attention of residents since petitions supporting the project began appearing in local businesses in November of last year.
ASPHALT PLANT COVERAGE:
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Opposition to potential asphalt plant organizing in Madison County.
Residents organizing for, against possible asphalt plant.
Seven-member board cut to five
The members of the Madison County Board of Adjustments - who act as judge and jury in the quasi-judicial proceeding - were likely the only individuals to attend the hearings who, in theory, do not have their mind made up on the issue. The seven-member panel was reduced to five voting members after Albert Sneed, the attorney representing Madison Asphalt, requested the recusals of two members for perceived conflicts of interst.
Sustainable Madison, a grassroots organization formed after word spread of a potential asphalt plant, is helping cover legal fees for adjacent homeowners opposed to the location. In addition, three of four residents who sought to provide evidence will testify after the board ruled they had standing in the case.
To secure the necessary local permitting, the burden rests with Madison Asphalt to prove that their potential asphalt production facility "will not adversely affect the health or safety" of individuals living and working in the neighborhood, "will not be detrimental to the public welfare," and will not be "injurious to property or public improvements in the neighborhood," according to the county's land use ordinance.
Madison Asphalt testimony
Jeff Hyder, the director of the county's building inspections, zoning and fire marshal services department, was the first to testify on the basics of permit application. Brian Gulden, attorney for the opposition, quizzed Hyder on whether the application met all appropriate setbacks and building height requirements.
Hyder confirmed that the application permit did not meet 200-foot lot width requirements across the entire perimenter of the plant. The impact of this dimensional shortcoming was not immediately clear, though should the plant receive approval, the board could institute conditions mandating that all sides fit the lot size requirements.
After Hyder, T.J. Reed, who co-owns French Broad Paving with his parents Donny and Regina, took the stand. He said that the family began exploring the possibility of opening a plant within the last few years to save money on asphalt they currently buy from competitors.
"I want that tax money brought to Madison," Reed said, estimating the paving company bought $2.4 million in asphalt last year. "With a 2.25% county tax, that's about $50,000-$55,000 that stays in Madison."
Under questioning from Sneed, Reed showed aerial maps of existing asphalt facilities in Weaverville, Hendersonville, Black Mountain and Enka. Reed said the plants – like the planned Marshall site - are located within one mile of schools, ball fields, senior homes and, in the case of the Enka plant, a residential neighborhood with homes priced over a half-million dollars. Reed also discussed a Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study completed in Salisbury that showed "no short-term or long-term" public health effects.
Under cross examination from Gulden, Reed said standard operating hours for the plant would be from 6 a.m.-5 p.m., six days a week. He added that the plant would operate at night if a job on a busy road required it. Asked how neighbors adjacent to the planned facility would be affected, Reed said that they would "not hear or smell it all the time. They might get a whiff of it."
Gulden also challenged Reed on comparisons to other asphalt sites in the region, pointing out that the Marshall plant would be closer to a downtown district than any of the other existing facilities. Gulden also stated that developments around the Enka site came after the plant was established in 1969.
"You're not giving (current neighbors) the opportunity to move here after building the plant," Gulden said.
Gulden also discussed the CDC study that Reed had sited, pointing out that it found "some levels of particles released from the facilities were above regulatory standards and could have caused respiratory irritation to asthmatics and other sensitive individuals," according to the study summary.
Asked if he had considered the cumulative effects on air quality the asphalt plant would have at its proposed site, Reed said, "I did and found it was very, very small compared to lots of other things in this world."
Air quality impact
The second evening of testimony featured witnesses put forward by Madison Asphalt. Carlos Cardenas, a sales rep for Asphalt Drum Mixers, the manufacturer of plant that would be placed inside the quarry, said that noise levels created by the plant would not impact nearby residents significantly.
"Most plants I've been to, I have to see them before I hear them," he said.
At another point in his testimony, Cardenas drew laughs from many in attendance when he stated homes in the area "do not hear the crusher," referring to heavy equipment active inside the quarry.
The CDC study again was again the focus of testimony as Rob Vandenmeiracker, a manager with TRC Environmental, the firm hired by Madison Asphalt to assist with air permit application. As board members wrestled with the study's conflicting findings, they questioned Madison Asphalt's witness on whether neighbors to the proposed location would be safe. Vandenmeiracker testified that he would feel comfortable placing his mother at Elderberry Healthcare, which lies within a half-mile from the plant.
Testimony will continue May 6.