Concrete plant approved
By Joey Pitchford
Published in News on June 7, 2018 5:50 AM
The Goldsboro City Council approved several zoning requests at its meeting Monday, including one to allow the construction of a concrete plant at the Oldcastle Adams building on the north side of Patetown Road between Industry Court and North Williams Street.
The vote marked the second time Timothy Rhodes, owner of SWR Properties in Goldsboro, had attempted to gain a conditional-use permit to begin building the plant. Rhodes' request was initially denied in March, but he reapplied after updating the development plans that include a new paved area.
Under the city's unified development code, concrete plants cannot be located less than 1,000 feet from any residentially developed or zoned property. Residentially zoned properties exists on the north, west and southeast sides of the construction site, so the council granted Rhodes a modification to the 1,000-feet rule -- by reducing the number to zero.
At the board's May 21 special meeting, Tiffany Creech, existing industry manager for the Wayne County Development Alliance, spoke in opposition to the plant. She said the facility could potentially endanger economic development already underway in the area.
"We believe the operation of a concrete plant at this location has the potential to adversely impact other industries nearby due to the dust and noise that concrete plants generally create during their normal operations," she said.
Creech said that manufacturers in the area have expressed concern that dust from the plant could cause problems with their machinery.
At the same meeting, Rhodes argued that he and his company have a vested interest in making sure the concrete plant does not negatively impact surrounding businesses, as SWR Properties has several clients renting space from them in the same building.
"When I went to get this plan, I put a lot of time and thought into keeping the dust down," he said. "Number one, this plant is a very small plant. It only makes 24 yards per hour. So I can't go in and make 100,000 yards of concrete a month and create a lot of dust."
The council approved the new request unanimously Monday as part of its consent agenda.
Other zoning changes the council approved are:
* An ordinance establishing a no-parking zone between the entrance and exit drives of the Goldsboro-Wayne Transportation Authority transfer station on West Mulberry Street.
* A change in the zoning at a property on the north side of Vann Street between Nannie Ryals Street and Vann Street Terminus from R-6 residential to R-9 residential mobile home.
* Site, landscaping and building elevation plans for a Bojangles restaurant on the northwest corner of Wayne Memorial Drive and Tommy's Road.
* A conditional-use permit to Lane Solar for the operation of a solar farm south of Old Smithfield Road between Gin Road and N.C. 581 South.