Wednesday, September 09, 2009
Glenvar asphalt plant tries a new site
Adams Construction is looking at a 17-acre site on Peaceful Drive, near the Roanoke county line.
A new location was announced Tuesday for what has been a controversial asphalt plant proposal in the Glenvar area of Roanoke County.
Adams Construction Co. has filed for a special-use permit for an asphalt plant on a 17-acre parcel now owned by Appalachian Power Co. and already zoned for industrial use.
The site is part of a 110-acre power company parcel near the border with Montgomery County and close to Interstate 81, according to the filing. It is near the Western Virginia Regional Jail.
Traffic to the site will not pass in front of any residences, according to the filing, which lists the address as 6090 Peaceful Drive, Salem.
The county planning commission and supervisors will likely take up the application in November.
Adams earlier this year dropped a request for a permit to build a plant at the site of the former Salem water treatment plant on West Main Street.
Nearby neighbors complained it was too close to schools, residences, churches and a nursing home.
The company agreed to seek a more remote site, but still in the West Roanoke County area.
Company spokesman Rick James said Adams, through its Foxhall Properties holding company, proposes to build the plant at a location that is “a little more isolated” but is already zoned Industrial-2, which allows asphalt plants.
“When we withdrew our last petition, we took to heart the concerns of the opposition. We worked diligently to find a site that addressed those concerns,” about proximity to homes and schools, James said.
His company still will have to obtain a special-use permit from the county’s board of supervisors, which could take a few months. A letter from the company’s attorney, Maryellen Goodlatte, said the firm hopes to open the plant in spring 2010.
In her letter to the county, she said the company would follow the same recommendations the Roanoke County Planning Commission proposed for the other site in terms of the heights of structures, dust and noise control, maximum output, lighting and other factors.
The proposed plant will also include what is known as a “filter bag house” to reduce particulates emitted into the air.
In addition to meeting all of Roanoke County’s requirements for its zoning, the facility must receive a permit from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality before it can open.
The application is available at www.roanokecountyva.com/publicinfor-mationoffice or in the Department of Community Development on the second floor of the Roanoke County Administration Center.
No date has yet been set for a community meeting on the proposal.
The planning commission is scheduled to hear the proposal Nov. 2 at 7 p.m.
A public hearing before the board of supervisors is planned Nov. 17 at 7 p.m.
Adams Construction Co. has filed for a special-use permit for an asphalt plant on a 17-acre parcel now owned by Appalachian Power Co. and already zoned for industrial use.
The site is part of a 110-acre power company parcel near the border with Montgomery County and close to Interstate 81, according to the filing. It is near the Western Virginia Regional Jail.
Traffic to the site will not pass in front of any residences, according to the filing, which lists the address as 6090 Peaceful Drive, Salem.
The county planning commission and supervisors will likely take up the application in November.
Adams earlier this year dropped a request for a permit to build a plant at the site of the former Salem water treatment plant on West Main Street.
Nearby neighbors complained it was too close to schools, residences, churches and a nursing home.
The company agreed to seek a more remote site, but still in the West Roanoke County area.
Company spokesman Rick James said Adams, through its Foxhall Properties holding company, proposes to build the plant at a location that is “a little more isolated” but is already zoned Industrial-2, which allows asphalt plants.
“When we withdrew our last petition, we took to heart the concerns of the opposition. We worked diligently to find a site that addressed those concerns,” about proximity to homes and schools, James said.
His company still will have to obtain a special-use permit from the county’s board of supervisors, which could take a few months. A letter from the company’s attorney, Maryellen Goodlatte, said the firm hopes to open the plant in spring 2010.
In her letter to the county, she said the company would follow the same recommendations the Roanoke County Planning Commission proposed for the other site in terms of the heights of structures, dust and noise control, maximum output, lighting and other factors.
The proposed plant will also include what is known as a “filter bag house” to reduce particulates emitted into the air.
In addition to meeting all of Roanoke County’s requirements for its zoning, the facility must receive a permit from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality before it can open.
The application is available at www.roanokecountyva.com/publicinfor-mationoffice or in the Department of Community Development on the second floor of the Roanoke County Administration Center.
No date has yet been set for a community meeting on the proposal.
The planning commission is scheduled to hear the proposal Nov. 2 at 7 p.m.
A public hearing before the board of supervisors is planned Nov. 17 at 7 p.m.
