The Currituck County Planning Board on July 8 recommended approval of a conditional rezoning to allow a concrete batch plant on a 10.5-acre parcel at 5235 Caratoke Highway in Poplar Branch. The motion said the request is “in conformance with the general purpose and intent of the Unified Development Ordinance and is consistent with the goals, objectives and policies of the Imagine Currituck 2040 vision plan,” and included the applicant’s proposed conditions.

The request was presented to the board as a conditional rezoning from Agriculture to Conditional Heavy Industrial for a site the applicant said was carved from a larger, 147-acre parent parcel. Planning staff explained that the parcel is mapped G1 (low-density growth) in the Imagine Currituck plan but lies near the area identified for the Mid County Bridge landing, and staff advised the board to weigh plan policies on industrial growth, community character and future master-planning when making a legislative decision.

Tim Newsome, who identified himself as an owner with Commercial Ready Mix, said the proposed plant would not use the nearby sand pit and that all raw materials “would be trucked in from other locations” and must meet NCDOT standards. Newsome described onsite controls used at his company’s other plants, including dust collection systems and washout pits, and said fly ash would be stored in overhead silos and metered into mixes rather than stored on the ground. Newsome told the board the company expects roughly 10 to 12 employees at the site, with the exact number depending on project demand.

Casey Barnell, attorney for the applicant, told the board the project’s proximity to the proposed Mid County Bridge landing is a principal reason for locating a concrete plant there. “Manufacture of quality concrete is absolutely crucial,” Barnell said, referencing correspondence from the North Carolina Department of Transportation included in the application materials. He said being closer to the bridge landing would reduce the risk that concrete pours would exceed allowable temperatures or time windows before placement.

Michael Strader, the project engineer, summarized site-layout choices and mitigation measures the applicant proposed. He said the plant footprint was sited behind an existing tree line and east of a major transmission line easement to minimize visibility from the highway, and that the narrow site access strip was designed to accommodate required drive and buffer widths.

Board members and other speakers asked technical and environmental questions during the public discussion. Topics included dust control and reuse (applicant: vacuum-style dust collectors that filter and return material to silos), runoff and washout management (applicant: directed to washout pits and regulated by state NPDES/permit processes), truck-related road dust (applicant: driveway to be improved with washed aggregate or asphalt millings), and noise from trucks and site equipment. The applicant stated that no silica fume would be used on the project and that fly ash would be handled in sealed silos.

Planning staff highlighted applicable policies and review standards from the Imagine Currituck plan and the Unified Development Ordinance. Staff also noted that conditional rezoning conditions must be mutually agreed to by the property owner and the applicant to be binding as part of the rezoning.

The board’s motion cited multiple plan policies as its basis for recommending approval, including land use goals and policies referenced in the staff report and Mid County Bridge–area policies, and explicitly adopted the applicant’s proposed conditions. Those conditions, as read into the record, include: development to conform to the submitted conceptual development plan; secure gated access with access codes for authorized workers; on-site security measures including surveillance cameras and lighting; extension of a concrete apron from Caratoke Highway to the security gate; and surfacing the driveway with washed aggregate or asphalt millings to reduce dust.

The board approved the recommendation by voice vote. The motion as read referenced the applicant’s conditions and the plan policies identified on the staff report pages the board cited. The recommendation will move forward to the Board of County Commissioners for final action.

Documents and testimony presented at the meeting indicate the applicant intends to proceed toward purchase and more detailed site design if the rezoning and subsequent approvals proceed; the applicant also said construction of the Mid County Bridge was a primary market driver for siting the plant near the proposed bridge landing, and that final plant construction could be delayed until bridge plans are more certain.