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The
president of MacLeod Construction
promised a fully-enclosed concrete plant
using water reclamation, rotary
vibrators to keep noise levels low, and
99.9 percent dust collection, but the
business owners in Wake Forest Business
Park strongly opposed the plant Tuesday
night.
Whether or not the plant is
built probably will hinge on the
covenants the business association has
placed on the lots in the business park,
which is geared toward light industrial
and technical manufacturing along with
office and warehouse space.
Robert Earnhardt, president
of the business association and of
Superior Tooling, one of the park’s
pioneers, said the covenants include the
architecture for new buildings. “Any
mechanical structure above building
height must be screened,” he said,
adding that he did not know how MacLeod
could screen the towers needed for
concrete production.
Earnhardt said Carolina
Sunrock tried to purchase the same
property but backed out after looking at
the covenants.
“You have the power to stop
this?” planning board member Mike Martin
asked.
“Absolutely, I think so,”
Earnhardt said.
After Peter Thibodeau moved
to recommend approval to the town board
and Ward Marotti seconded, Martin
suggested the planning board not take
any action until MacLeod Construction
President Bob MacLeod had met with the
business association.
“If we say OK, they have to
go through them,” Kim Parker said.
Chairman Bob Hill voiced a
lot of the objections Earnhardt had
about traffic, dust, and noise. “I’m not
sure the location of a concrete plant in
a business park is going to be the best
thing.”
The vote was seven to two to
approve the plant with Hill and Martin
voting no. Tom Cornett was absent.
Carolina Sunrock built its
asphalt plant outside the business park
boundaries but immediately south of the
five-acre site up for rezoning. The
smaller Neuse Business Park which has
just been established is prohibited from
allowing concrete or asphalt plants as a
condition of the rezoning.
MacLeod said the plant would
have 10 or 12 trucks, about 15 fulltime
employees and operate from 6 a.m. to 6
p.m. except when customer needs require
an extended pour.
Earnhardt talked about the
damage to the one road into the park –
One World Way and Unicon Drive – caused
by the concrete and asphalt trucks
already using the road as well as the
large trucks which deliver the sand and
aggregate.
The trucks have to enter
Burlington Mills Road at a point near a
curve. “Trucks don’t have that
acceleration. There have been a lot of
close calls.”
MacLeod would add 75 loads a
day leaving the park, “That’s one
hundred and fifty trucks up and down our
roads plus the large dump trucks and
semi trucks.”
The state has had to dig up
the road and patch it a little over a
year ago.
Earnhardt said there are
between 350 and 400 employees in the
park.
Several of the businesses
are concerned about dust because they
perform delicate operations requiring
white rooms. Those include electronics
for airplanes and mixing of chemicals.
One business the park wanted, a
recording studio, did not locate there
because of the noise which already
exists.
A letter from former town
mayor John Lyon objecting to the
concrete plant was made part of the
record. Lyon operates a business, BAJO,
in the park.
The town board will make the
final decision June 19. |
