Hillsborough
board kills asphalt plant |
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The Aug. 7 vote reflected the board's concerns that the surrounding communities would be negatively affected and that the plant would increase pollution in the area. Doug Robins of Asphalt Experts, the applicant for the proposed plant, deferred comment to his lawyer but has said he is trying to build only a small plant. He said he does not want to be perceived incorrectly. Robins' application for the asphalt plant process began in January 2003. The proposed construction would have begun on a five-acre site off Valley Forge Road. According to Robins' attorney, Gray Styers, of Blanchard, Miller, Lewis & Styers, P.A., the site previously had been designated for industrial uses by the town of Hillsborough. These uses include asphalt plants, he said. During the Board of Adjustment's review of the proposal, the Hillsborough Town Board approved a moratorium on the building of asphalt plants amid public outcry against the Asphalt Experts plant. "They were trying to change the rules in the middle of the process," Styers said. Robins took this decision to court and ultimately won. Styers attributed the ruling to the fact that the law was altered with the sole goal of blocking Robin's proposed plant. Evelyn Lloyd, a Hillsborough Town Board commissioner, said that she was afraid of a ruling in favor of Robins but that the moratorium was necessary to control the zoning regulations of businesses that use large amounts of chemicals. "The site is extremely close to a creek, and the man didn't even own the property at the time," Lloyd said. Board members voiced concerns about the effects of the plant on surrounding communities in terms of traffic congestion, pollution, noise and overall quality of life. Styers said most of these concerns were not based on the reality of the case. "They were based upon the fears, not the facts," Styers said. Board of Adjustment member Al Hartkopf said the proposal was incomplete and contained too many unknowns, leading the board to deny the plan. Styers said the more than 150 existing asphalt plants in North Carolina should have been used as a guide in decision making. "This is not an experimental or unknown type of process," Styers said. "We explained that to the board the best we could." He said no one had said anything about the plan being incomplete until just before the vote. Robins might continue to pursue his goal with further legal action. "There has been no decision made yet, but we may appeal the result back to the courts," Styers said. |