South St. Louis County News

St. Louis Call Newspapers

South St. Louis County News

St. Louis Call Newspapers

South St. Louis County News

St. Louis Call Newspapers

Panel considers Mange’s proposal to permit asphalt on quarry sites

By LAURA UHLMANSIEK

Staff Reporter

A proposal to amend the county’s zoning ordinance to permit the storage and processing of milled asphalt on quarry sites that contain or are adjacent to asphalt plants was scheduled to be considered earlier this week by the Planning Commis-sion.

The Planning Commission was scheduled to meet Monday night — after the Call went to press.

If approved, the amendment would allow Fred Weber Inc. to keep its recycled as-phalt pile at its Oakville quarry, which is not zoned for such use.

County Councilman Skip Mange, R-Town and Country, introduced the resolution for the Planning Commission to consider the amendment Aug. 30 — just two months after the council, led by Chairman John Campisi, R-south county, denied a rezoning request by Fred Weber that would have permitted the asphalt pile at its Oakville quarry.

Residents who live near Weber’s Oak-ville quarry had strongly fought the company’s rezoning request and now are fighting to prevent the county from amending the zoning ordinance. They have complained of the asphalt pile’s smell and contend the asphalt poses a health hazard. The county, at the request of Metropolitan Congregations United, is funding soil, water, and air quality tests.

Campisi had fought for the residents of the area by denying the zoning request, and he told the Call that not only is this resolution premature before the tests can be completed, but Mange’s move to change the zoning ordinance is undermining his authority to make decisions for the people of his district.

In response to a question by Oakville resident Michael Bram at the Aug. 30 council meeting, Mange had said that there are no asphalt piles in his district that would be affected by this amendment to the Zoning Ordinance.

Weber’s 22.8-acre site is on the southeast side of Baumgartner Road and nearly 2,100 feet southwest of Heintz Road. The site is used for quarrying operations, outdoor storage of recycled asphalt pavement, crushing and stockpiling. Roughly 275,000 tons of recycled asphalt is stockpiled at that location, according to Weber estimates. The site’s zoning, however, is for non-urban or quarry uses, not for an asphalt pile.

The zoning violation was brought to the county’s attention in 2003 by Oakville residents who were angered by Weber’ s proposal for a trash-transfer station. Since then, Weber requested that the site’s zoning be changed from the Non-Urban and Flood Plain Non-Urban districts to the M-3 Planned Industrial District and the FPM-3 Flood Plain Planned Industrial District so that the company can continue to use the site to store and recycle asphalt.

The Planning Commission recommended Jan. 31 to the County Council that it rezone Weber’s property to accommodate the milled asphalt pile, as long as certain conditions were met. The County Council dropped the recommendation at its June 21 meeting, essentially denying the request.

On Aug. 30, Mange proposed the resolution to have the Planning Commission consider the amendment to change the zoning ordinance. The County Council approved the resolution 5-2, with Campisi and Councilman Greg Quinn, R-west county, opposed.

A lawsuit filed against the county by Weber is pending. The company alleges the Oakville site is properly zoned for the asphalt pile and no rezoning is necessary.

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