Council rejects rezoning for aggregate storage site after neighbors, manufacturers raise dust and contamination concerns

City Council on Jan. 21 denied a conditional rezoning that would have allowed expanded industrial activity and large outdoor storage on Industrial Pike, after nearby manufacturers and property owners told council the proposed use posed risks to product quality, employee health and ongoing businesses in the industrial park.

The applicant, Fairby Corporation, had sought to rezone roughly 15.9 acres from I‑2 (general industrial) to an I‑3 conditional district. The initial application had proposed an asphalt plant; after community pushback Fairby removed the plant from the request and revised the site plan to limit the on‑site use to storage of aggregate and recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) that would support an asphalt plant located across Industrial Pike. The applicant proposed buffers and agreed to pull RAP piles inward by several hundred feet and add undisturbed vegetative buffers.

Planning staff reported the site is surrounded by…