Decision About Asphalt Plant Delayed

The developer of a proposed asphalt plant in Greensboro, NC, and nearby property owners have agreed to postpone a decision on whether to permit the plant near the Piedmont Centre office park.

The Zoning Commission was scheduled to vote on the permit at its April 12 meeting, but attorney Charlie Melvin, who is representing the Sharpe Brothers paving company, said his client agreed to ask for a month-long delay. Melvin said Sharpe Brothers will negotiate with businesses near the site to lessen any negative effects.

Council members say the plant would be near High Point's premier corporate parks and worry that it could jeopardize their development.

According to the planning commission, the area being looked at has become predominantly zoned Heavy Industrial over time. The tracts surrounding the site were rezoned to Industrial H by the Zoning Commission more than 15 years ago.

According to the commission, Heavy industrial zoning is the most appropriate zoning designation for an asphalt plant and, in light of the amount of building and highway construction that is currently underway and pending in the Triad, it is logical to have an asphalt plant in the area.

To reduce the problem with an office park in the general area, the backers of the asphalt plant will look to add a 50-foot wide undisturbed buffer along the entire frontage of the property and supplement that with plantings where necessary to block visual contact between adjacent uses and create spatial separation.

High Point Mayor Becky Smothers said that the council plans to voice its opposition to the location of the asphalt plant in a letter to the Greensboro Planning and Zoning Board. The council also plans to send one of its planners to any meetings to express the city's concerns. (Piedmont, North Carolina) News & Record