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Council approves rezoning, special-use permit and final plat for KC Compost expansion
Summary
Belton approved rezoning from agricultural to Business Park, a special-use permit and final plat to expand a composting facility from 37 to about 57 acres at 2008 East 170th Street; staff recommended conditions and did not add a time limit to the permit.
Belton City Council approved three related ordinances on first reading to allow KC Compost to expand its existing composting operation at 2008 East 170th Street from roughly 37 acres to 57.06 acres by rezoning the site from agricultural to BP (Business Park), granting a special-use permit for a composting facility in BP zoning, and approving a one-lot final plat for the property.
City planning staff described the project as an expansion to add about 20 acres to the existing composting site and said the rezoning aligns with the city's 2050 comprehensive plan and recent Unified Development Code updates that require composting operations in BP zoning to hold a special-use permit. Staff told the council the planning commission held a public hearing June 17 and unanimously recommended approval of the rezoning, special-use permit and final plat; staff likewise recommended approval of each item with conditions.
The special-use permit review noted four standards for composting facilities in the UDC and requested a modification to Standard A, which requires composting facilities to be at least 500 feet from residential zoning or planned residential areas. Staff said a small piece of the northeast corner of the property shows as planned residential on the future land-use map but that the northeast area is currently a wooded area associated with a horse racetrack and is under contract to be purchased by the composting operator; staff reported the operator intends to preserve the vegetation there as a natural buffer. Staff also said the nearest developed residential property is about 1,100 feet northwest of the site and that, aside from the exception requested for the mapped planned-residential corner, the expansion meets the other special-use standards.
Planning staff noted the site's prior special-use permit history: permits for the existing facility were approved in 2005 and renewed in 2006 and 2009 but lapsed in 2014; the facility continued operating and the lapse was not discovered until the operator contacted staff in April about expansion plans. Because the facility has operated without incidents for roughly 20 years, staff recommended no time limit on the renewed special-use permit but included four conditions that staff said address operational concerns.
For the final plat, staff said the 57.06-acre property will be platted as a single lot and that no additional rights of way or easements were required to accommodate the development. The planning commission recommended approval of the final plat on June 17; staff recommended approval with one condition.
Council members asked whether the northeast wooded area could later be developed as housing; planning staff said the operator intends to keep that area vegetated and described the topography and existing use (horse racetrack) as factors that make residential development unlikely. The council approved the measures on first-reading motions; the records show motions carried by voice vote.
The council packet indicated staff recommendations, the planning commission’s unanimous recommendations, and the conditions attached to the special-use permit and final plat. Staff said it would stand ready to answer follow-up questions and to enforce conditions attached to the permit and plat approvals.
