HomeMy WebLinkAboutC.054.93011_1520 (2)Karen Shultz (proponent) owner/applicant advised of owning/residing in the area since
1988. She said prior to September 2001, the site operated as a racing shop. Shultz said the
sawmill generated about one truckload of lumber a day, and closing the facility would adversely
impact the 20 employees.
Kathy Sparks (proponent) operator of the sawmill company, said sawmilling was similar
to farming in that family members, generation after generation, became sawmillers. She said the
business was needed in north Iredell and had operated for the past three years without
complaints.
Pattie Ralston (opponent) said the business should be in a manufacturing district. She
expressed concerns about the rezoning, especially since the Voluntary Farmland Preservation
Program was adopted by the county.
Jettie Phan (opponent) expressed concerns about piles of wastewood on the backside of
the property that adjoined her land. Ms. Phan also said landscape drainage was eroding and
damaging her property.
Robin Shook (opponent) also expressed concerns about the poor landscaping and the
drainage problems. He said safety was a factor due to the large trucks that backed out of the
business.
Kent Jordan (proponent) said dairy tankers maneuvered daily from farm -to -farm in the
area, and approximately 80 people would be impacted if the sawmill were closed.
Andy Barker (proponent) said the business was convenient for the community to obtain
mulch and sawdust. Barker said the business could provide the "little jobs" that larger
companies couldn't.
Joanna Barker (opponent) expressed disappointment in the esthetics (long -bed trailers at
the site, ruts in the fields). She mentioned safety concerns for the students residing or traveling
along the road. Barker also said, "Ignorance of the law is no excuse."
A.K. Loyd (opponent) reminded everyone that zoning remained with the property. He
asked who would "police" the zoning if it changed to heavy manufacturing. Loyd said other
than college and military service, he was a life-long resident of the area, and a "Pandora's Box
would be opened if the request were approved.
Bedford Cannon (attorney representing the applicant) said the business would be an
agricultural support business, and small farms in the area would utilize the sawmill operation.
Cannon said the chipper would be in an enclosed area to reduce the noise. He said 20 employees
would be out of work if the business closed, and the sawmill operation was an adjunct to the
lumber industry. He said the entryway couldn't be screened, but screening could be provided for
the landowners to the east and west. Cannon said the southern end was already screened by a
forest. He said there was (1) no room for expansion (2) noise would be minimal (3) the
operation would fill the void created by the closing of G&M Lumber, and (4) there would be
minimal truck traffic. He said the business was equivalent to a dairy business, but it was an
adjunct to the lumber industry.
Commissioner Johnson asked how the attorney would rebut spot zoning statements.
Cannon said it would be a zoning reclassification with conditions to enhance, and that
were not inconsistent with the zoning already in place -- agricultural. He said heavy industry
would never be at the site -- the business was an adjunct.
Gloria Byers (opponent) said there was another sawmill in the community. She said the
business was noisy, and much of the wildlife was now gone. Byers asked how this would impact
the property values for the neighboring properties. She said the operation sometimes started at
six in the morning and ended around eight at night.
Steve Warren said that as Mr. Loyd had mentioned, certain caveats or factors "ran with
the property." He said that if in the future RBN went out of business, the successor would have