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A proposed asphalt mixing facility rejected by Detroit officials following community outcry will get one last shot to make its case to the city's Board of Zoning Appeals.
The decision to turn down the facility planned for 12155 Southfield Service Dr. was a rare case of the city putting residents' environmental concerns over new business and jobs — here, up to 50.
Community opposition was overwhelming, with Crain's reporting at the time that Detroit's Buildings, Safety Engineering and Environmental Department received 200 emails against the plan and just three in favor.
Asphalt Specialists was to seek a reversal at a zoning board hearing initially set for Tuesday, but it will now be rescheduled due to a noticing error, the Free Press reports.
Its effort could be a long shot, as the board is appointed by city council members and can only consider whether the city made a legally sound decision, not whether it approves. The company was denied specifically in its request for conditional use of the land to make asphalt, with the city saying its zoning was geared toward warehousing, Crain's reported in December.
The Freep article sheds additional light on the company's side of the story, which includes some interesting claims and supporters. Namely, that while it plans on making asphalt — it wouldn't *really* be making asphalt:
(Asphalt Specialists' attorney) told the Free Press that opponents to his client's project may be confusing it with an asphalt plant or manufacturer, which would involve more intense heating operations that would release particles. This proposed facility would instead mix and store asphalt to be delivered to work sites.
That runs counter to city documents that classify it as a plant.
In issuing its denial, Detroit's Buildings, Safety Engineering and Environmental summed up residents' concerns as "proximity of the asphalt facility to the neighborhood, lack of residential screening being proposed by the applicant, potential negative noise impact from heavy truck traffic, potential residential property value decline, and the adverse impact of particulate matter emitting from (50-foot containment) silos upon the residential neighborhood."
The city's planning department also found it didn't fit with a master plan to designate the area light industrial, and that it could "aggravate any pre-existing physical, social or economic deterioration of the adjacent residential neighborhood."
The in-favor camp, meanwhile, includes Southfield Plymouth Community Association president Mary Marsh, who said a meeting with the developer of the site did much to allay her concerns.
The Motor City Blight Busters founder, a mayoral ally, also tells Freep he supports the project.
"Looking at the fact that the proposed plant is state-of-the-art, it has the latest and greatest air quality system in place. The area is zoned for this kind of use," (John George) said. "The gentleman involved, Bruce Israel, is not asking for tax credits. It would employ up to 50 Detroiters."
George said he met with Israel, vice president of Asphalt Specialists, Inc. to learn more about the proposal and felt the project would meet environmental requirements.
"If we are always saying no to improvements, jobs and tax base, then when do we say yes?" George said. "You're never going to have the perfect anything."
