Ashe County Planning Board approves Glendale Springs asphalt plant
JEFFERSON �" The Ashe County Planning Board agreed to issue a permit to D.J. Cecile and Appalachian Materials to construct an asphalt plant at the site of the Glendale Springs Quarry on Glendale Springs Road.
“There is no logical, decent reason to continue this process,” Planning Board Vice Chariman Priscilla Cox said. “We have a legal responsibility to act decisively because of the amount of time we have spent on this, the amount of effort put in legally.”
The board voted 3-2 in favor of issuing the permit, with Cox, Brandon Dillard and Keith Phillips voting in favor. Chairman Gene Hafer and William Carter voted against issuing the permit.
Appalachian Materials’ attorney, Chad Essick of Poyner Spruill law firm in Raleigh, said that (Appalachian Materials) were hopeful that the planning board would do “what we thought was the right thing, which is to go ahead and issue the permit.”
Hafer originally proposed that the board send the permit back to the Watershed Administration for review, feeling the board did not possess the authority to approve the permit on behalf of the Planning Department and Watershed Administration. Cox noted that North Carolina Law permits the board to act with authority in the matter of an appeal.
Hafer expressed concern that Ashe County Planning Director Adam Stumb had not been to the site of the proposed Asphalt Plant, with Hafer wanting the board to wait for Stumb to have the opportunity.
Planning Board Member Phillips asked Stumb if he would be able to dedicate “two hours of his time in the next two weeks” to go out and see the site. Stumb could not provide a definite answer, refusing to commit to visiting the site, citing potential schedule concerns.
“Several years ago we would approve developments with 250 plus lots, huge developments, and we would never go to those sites,” Cox said in regards to Hafer’s desire to have Stumb visit the site.
The permit resolves nearly three years of costly deliberation between county attorneys, attorneys for Ashe County and the Ashe County Planning Board. The issue first arose in June of 2015 when Cecile originally applied for a permit to construct an asphalt plant.
According to attorney Nathan Miller, legal counsel for Cecile, Ashe County has spent at least $325,000 on legal expenses in the case, this based on invoices Miller obtained from the county.
