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Council approves two temporary concrete batch plants; residents raise dust and truck traffic concerns
Summary
The Haslet City Council on Aug. 4 unanimously approved two specific-use permits for temporary concrete batch plants in North Glen and Sweetgrass subdivisions, subject to a Planning & Zoning condition that all concrete be used on-site.
The Haslet City Council on Aug. 4 approved two specific-use permits for temporary concrete batch plants in new subdivisions, imposing a condition recommended by the planning-and-zoning commission that no concrete produced be used off-site.
The council granted the permits for a 39-acre tract in North Glen Phase 3 and for a site in Sweetgrass Phase 2 after hours of discussion about air quality, truck traffic and whether plants had operated before permit approval.
Developers told the council the portable plants are intended to speed concrete work and reduce problems created by long ready-mix truck lines. Shane Sheffield, who identified himself as the plant operations manager for the applicant, said the temporary plants would run for a short, intensive period to pour roadways. "So the plant would actually when we get started back up, the plant would run for 3 days and it's gone," Sheffield said for the North Glen site; for the Sweetgrass site the applicants said they sought up to 14 days of operation to cover unknown rehabilitation needs on the southern portion of the project.
Developers and their representatives said plant use reduces the number of ready-mix trucks needed, shortens the schedule and reduces off-site trucking impacts created by long truck lines and driver-hour limits. For North Glen the applicant estimated that replacing an on-site plant with ready-mix deliveries would require roughly 375 ready-mix truck trips and extend the work from days to weeks.
Residents and some council members raised concerns about dust, water-spray controls, noise, hours and the fact one company began initial activity before council action earlier in the process. "They started up and started operating their concrete plant before we gave them approval to," Councilmember Watkins said; staff confirmed the operation was ordered shut down after the violation was discovered. Developers said they shut down immediately when notified by staff.
On air quality, applicants cited prior third-party monitoring (conducted at other sites) and said they will water stockpiles, use dust-control measures and operate a water truck and on-site supervisor while the plant runs. The applicant for North Glen said earlier TCEQ sampling at multiple portable plants found low silica and no significant respirable hazards; the applicant acknowledged those tests were not specific to the North Glen or Sweetgrass locations and that the company had updated the Sweetgrass TCEQ permit to allow up to 14 days of operation.
Both permits include the planning-and-zoning condition added in open meeting: concrete produced at the temporary batch plants must be used on-site and not sold or transported off-site for external projects. Council approved both permits unanimously.
Why it matters: Temporary plants shorten schedules and can reduce heavy truck traffic across the region if used for on-site pours, but neighbors and the council pressed for strict operational limits and monitoring because of dust, hours of operation and the potential for trucks to cut through nearby neighborhoods.
What comes next: Staff will monitor permit conditions, and applicants said they will maintain water trucks, supervisors and on-site dust controls during operation windows.
