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Batch plants and 'high-impact' industry draw detailed scrutiny in Topsham recode workshop
Summary
Board debated restoring a standalone 'batch plant' use and whether Auburn Concrete (an existing operation) should be accommodated under industrial or 'high-impact' industry rules; members favored giving the use an explicit definition and discussing mapping changes to align industrial land.
During the recode discussion board members focused on how to treat batch plants and other high-impact industrial uses in the proposed use table. Several members argued for restoring batch plants as a distinct listed use (rather than subsuming them under a broad high-impact category) and for providing a clear definition so town staff and applicants know how the use will be evaluated.
Members also discussed Auburn Concrete, an existing operator that would be nonconforming under some proposed map changes. Staff proposed making batch plants a distinct use with a definition that distinguishes on-site mixing for off-site delivery (current-code description) and discussed whether the boundary of the limited-industrial (LI) zone should be expanded to include Auburn’s site to limit nonconformity. The board asked staff to draft definitional language and options for where batch plants should be allowed (permitted vs. conditional) and to provide mapping options for the next workshop.
