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Council approves temporary concrete batch plant at 7600 S. Washington Fields Road with export radius and time limits
Summary
Washington City Council approved a conditional use permit (CD-24-18) on Feb. 12 to allow a temporary concrete batch plant at 7600 South Washington Fields Road, imposing conditions limiting off-site deliveries to a five-mile radius, requiring site stabilization and landscaping berms, and setting extension rules.
Washington City Council on Feb. 12 approved Conditional Use Permit CD-24-18 for a temporary concrete batch plant at 7600 South Washington Fields Road in the Aura Center development, with conditions restricting off-site deliveries, requiring site controls and setting limits on the permit term.
Assistant Community Development Director Eldon Gibb presented the application and staff recommendations. Gibb said staff supported having a temporary plant to meet the development’s sizable concrete needs but was concerned about permitting an ongoing industrial use that would generate extra truck traffic if the plant served projects beyond the immediate development.
"Staff supports this purpose, and understands the large concrete demands of the project. However, staff is uncomfortable with exporting concrete that is outside the ARRA development," Gibb said. The packet included a condition limiting exporting materials to a five-mile radius; condition language and additional requirements were added to address traffic and site maintenance.
The approved permit is temporary and includes the following conditions summarized from staff and the Planning Commission recommendation:
- Location and size: the site is roughly 6.41 acres; the plant is a portable batch operation with conveyor equipment, stockpiles of sand and aggregate, cement and fly ash, and storage containers. - Hours and staffing: typical hours are 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.; occasional early-morning pours between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. are allowed; the operation requires three employees. - Site controls: a stabilized entrance to reduce track-out onto Washington Fields Road, and a requirement to construct and maintain stabilization for the permit duration. - Screening: two 10-foot landscaping berms (front and rear) with live plantings to screen the site from Washington Fields Road and Southern Parkway. - Operations limits: no crushing or concrete recycling on site; staff limited export of concrete to a five-mile radius to reduce truck traffic impacts. - Term and extensions: the applicant requested a 10-year approval (with a possible 5-year extension to 15 years). Staff recommended an initial five-year approval with the option to renew at year 5 and again at year 10. The council modified a motion to specify that the first extension is to be approved administratively by staff and the second extension must be approved by the council.
Gibb noted that the Planning Commission reviewed the request on Feb. 5 and unanimously recommended approval with conditions. The council motion to approve the permit, as modified, passed unanimously; the roll call returned five ayes and the motion was recorded as approved 5–0.
The council discussion referenced long-term land‑use expectations for the area, noting that while industrial uses had been contemplated historically, the city and staff wanted the plant’s use limited in time to avoid making an industrial-scale batch plant a permanent use in the development area.
The applicant — represented at the meeting by Bob Hermanson — did not request additional changes beyond those reflected in the conditions. The council indicated it expected the plant to reduce the total number of concrete trucks traveling through the city while the Aura Center project is under construction.
