Hall County Commissioners voted unanimously Thursday to approve a rezoning and special use request that will allow for an asphalt plant on 10 acres at the intersection of Candler Road and Roy Parks Road.
The vote came despite a recommendation of denial by the county planning commission and pleas from nearby residents, who expressed concerns about traffic, noise and the impact of pollution.
"I'm all for improving infrastructures in Hall County. There are places for asphalt plants, and a little community in Candler is not a place for an asphalt plant," resident Adam Roberts said.
Another concern of residents was the impact of the plant on the nearby Myers Elementary School. The school's driveway lies roughly 600 feet south of the intersection that the rezoned property lies on.
"Of those (Myers Elementary) students, 82 percent are eligible for free lunch, another 10 percent are eligible for reduced lunch. That's 92 percent of Myers Elementary students that have a financial hardship," resident Abby Freeman said. "If this happens, my child will not go to Myers. I would rather put her in private school to protect her health. 92 percent of Myers students don't have that choice."
The vote drew an emotional reaction from residents in attendance, several of whom began to verbally confront commissioners after the vote had been taken. Hall County Sheriff's marshalls stepped in to clear the commission room.
The applicant was Baldwin Paving Company. Chief Legal Officer for the company, Ryan Teague, spoke at the meeting saying that the zoning of the area indicated that the plant was a better fit than residents said.
"This is a Heavy Industrial zoning property," Teague said. "Other heavy industrial can go on that site without (applicants) coming up here and asking you for it, it's already been approved by this county, that will be loud, that will have an impact on the community, that would run trucks, that would use that access road."
District Three Commissioner Shelly Echols made the motion to approve the request, adding a number of conditions that would prevent trucks from entering or leaving the property during Myers Elementary's entry and dismissal times and requiring Baldwin Paving Company to eventually build an entrance to the property across the railroad tracks and onto Candler Road. The property can currently only be accessed via Roy Parks Road.
Echols spoke after the meeting and addressed her reason for making the motion to approve the request.
"There are very few areas in Hall County that are zoned for Heavy Industrial, so that's one area that we already have marked out," Echols said. "(Baldwin Paving Company) has an uphill battle to get the approval from CSX to have a crossing over there and then to coordinate their driveway and all that with the DOT...If they can accomplish that, then hopefully the impact to the residents of Roy Parks Road would be minimized."
Echols said that residents did not request a meeting with her prior to the vote, but she said she received a number of phone calls and emails.
"I think I answered all the emails back and talked to folks on the phone, but no one requested a meeting with me," Echols said. "My grandparents lived on Roy Parks Road when I was growing up, so that area is certainly an area that means a lot to me and I want to see that area protected."
