Plan for asphalt companies meets resistance
{Kipp Hanley/News & Messenger}
Bristow resident Thea Taylor protests plans for two asphalt plants to be built near her Bridlewood Manor home. Taylor was one of several dozen residents who came out to Victory Lakes subdivision to rally against the plan Tuesday.
The plans to hear a special use permit matter involving an asphalt company has been put on hold thanks, in part, to an overwhelmingly negative response from area residents.
Earlier this month, the Prince William County Planning Commission recommended approval for Finley Asphalt & Sealing Inc.’s permit request for its business — which would be located at 9514 Hornbaker Road in Manassas.
The area is zoned for heavy industrial use and the matter was scheduled to be heard at a Board of County Supervisors public hearing Tuesday. But residents of nearby Victory Lakes subdivision recently caught wind of the plans, writing the board and creating a petition for residents to sign in protest.
Their main beef was environmental health concerns, potential drops in property value and heavy truck traffic. After learning of the community’s protests, the board tabled the issue May 19 for further discussion with area homeowners.
“The community needs more time to have input, ask questions and get answers,” stated board chairman Corey A. Stewart, R-at large, in an e-mail to Bristow resident Katherine Gotthardt on Monday.
Stewart also favors deferring a scheduled June 23 hearing to change proffers in the nearby Broad Run Industrial Park to allow for a second asphalt plant to be run by GRR Land of Virginia, LLC.
A spokesperson for Finley said they are coming up with a educational package that will clear up and information or misinformation that is being spread about their facility.
“A lot of stuff that’s been thrown out there has been completely false,” said the spokesperson.
He also said he was unclear whether the June 2 BOCS meeting would’ve touched on the subject of the new asphalt plant.
“They were talking about the June 2 date but [I didn’t think] it was concrete,” said the spokesperson.
Victory Lakes resident Alexander Kot helped organize a small rally in his neighborhood Tuesday and according to co-organizer Christine Rosenfeld, an information meeting at the neighborhood clubhouse will take place Thursday at 7 p.m.
Residents are mainly concerned about potential health effects on them and their children. According to the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, the plants could produce toxins like formaldehyde, benzene and styreme, the latter which could negatively impact an individual’s nervous system.
Burt Paukei said he just found out about the scenario Monday but is interested in attending Thursday’s meeting. A welder at Capital Boiler Works in Springfield, Paukei said his business works with asphalt companies and joked that another plant in the area would give him more work.
Yet, he’s concerned that having an asphalt plant near where his children attend school could affect them negatively, especially his 13-year-old son with asthma.
Finley’s spokesperson said their educational package will address these issues and the company will adhere to any local, state or federal guidelines placed upon it.
If allowed to operate, the asphalt companies would be located within a mile of several subdivisions including Victory Lakes, Braemar, Saybrooke, Bridlewood Manor and Sheffield Manor.
The planning commission voted 7-1 to recommend the approval of the special use permit for Finley and last week, voted 5-3 to approve the proffer change for the Land of Virginia site.
The Land of Virginia site permits heavy industrial uses but was proffered in 1989 to not allow asphalt plants.
According to county documents, notice of Land of Virginia’s application was given to adjacent property owners within 200 feet per county standards. Early in the process, county staff received several calls regarding this application, especially from the Saybrooke subdivision.
The document also stated the applicant communicated their proposal with these citizens and no responses were received by staff in the last several months.
The Finley spokesperson said there was adequate notice via newspapers for the planning commission’s May 6 public hearing, and that he never received any invitation to speak with any homeowner association to address any of their concerns regarding the plant.
Still, neighbors said they felt blindsided by the news that the county would allow such industry in such close proximity close to their homes. Kot said having an asphalt company down the street from his house wasn’t what he expected when he moved into Victory Lakes just three years ago.
“You can bike, there are two lakes, there are playgrounds,” said Kot, who has two young children. “This is an ideal community to raise kids.”
Even some of the industrial park residents — like Blue Isle Granite & Tile — don’t want this type of business moving next door.
Blue Isle Granite & Tile co-owner Tamara Denigris, who also lives nearby, said the plant “could cause a lot of health problems.”
Staff writer Kipp Hanley can be reached at 703-878-8062.
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Reader Reactions
Perhaps there are some Prince William
County Supervisors that have not lived
in Prince William County long enough
to know that BOCS designated Linton Hall Road as a residential corrider
MANY, MANY years ago.
Thus, who has changed this to “industrial”???....could it be “some
friends”???
Also, residents of Linton Hall Road
might just wish to take a little ride
on 28, through Nokesville past 7-11
for a mile or so to see the NEW UGLY
power lines that are already in place.
Are you sure that these will not be
on Linton Hall Road????
Have you verified this with the
Brentsville Supervisor and Dominion
Power?? (Gainesville Supervisor did
get this “not in their backyard”...
understand the position of Brentsville
Supervisor may have been differnt,
is my understanding….THIS SHOULD
NOT BE ON LINTON HALL ROAD….ANY
NEW MEMBER OF BOCS SHOULD REFER TO
“ARCHIVES” AS TO ACTIONS OF BOCS
MANY, MANY YEARS AGO FOR LINTON HALL
ROAD TO BE A RESIDENTIAL CORRIDER.
i didnt hear any complaints of the paving going on in vl today! nor did they complain about all of the road improvments on linton hall rd. so they can drive there gas hogging suvs in comfort! nor do they complain when the new target goes in w/ its 1 sq. mile asphalt lot and 1000’s of cars daily. do they know there at least 2 0ther existing plants within 2 miles of the proposed? one is capable of producung 400 tons of asphalt an hour! please find a better cause or move! Finley has been doing business in mannassas for over 40 years. they are a 1st class co and i know they will do the right thing!
Asphalt plants need to be near quarries. So, until Va. allows the construction of new quarries in the area, there are NOT many other places one can be built.
Also, studies have been conducted that show that our children, asthma afflicted or not, will not suffer from a new plant. I wish people would do some research before trying to scare everyone to their point ov view.
I think it’s horrible to bring this type of “industrial company” to that part of Manassas. I myself, have young children who will be attending school in that area and by no means do I want them playing around or near. I think everyone has the same concerns…
You just don’t put these types of industrial facilities within a few hundred yards of literally thousands homes and densely populated schools (Cedar Point, Victory Lakes, Bristow Run and Marstellar, not to mention Linton Hall School and Youth for Tomorrow).
These facilities pose a serious health concern (noxious fumes, increase in asthma and other respiratory ailments and possibly carcinogenic issues), a safety concern (an additional 700 trucks on the road EACH day), an economic concern (already taken a huge beating in the market and don’t need a final nail in the coffin to permanently suppress the values of homes), as well as being impossible to contain the odor and light that will be constantly emitted from these plants’ 24 hour operaton.
While there are plenty of other industrial facilities on Hornbaker, even many of them don’t want the Asphalt Plant there. This is especially true of the newly touted Innovation Park which has a new data center ($300 million investment—see Bull Run Observer 5/22/09). The surrounding areas are commercial employment, not industrial. This is a move backward in terms of improving and attracting desirable businesses.
I am not at all opposed to asphalt—we need it, but there are PLENTLY of other places where these facitilities can be built.
I live in Baemar. That being said, I do not have a problem with an asphalt plant being built on Hornbaker Rd. The whole area between Wellington and Balls Ford Rd. is Heavy Industrial. There are many commercial and industrial distribution centers planned for that area. I think people have a huge misconception about asphalt plants. I travel up 29 every day and never smell the asphalt plant near the battlefield.
I think the same people complaining are the ones who gripe the loudest about traffic and the lack or roads.
This plant would bring in jobs, tax revenue and cheaper roads.
As for the neighborhood “HAWKS”, nice job stopping the new power lines.
I am one of the many homeowners that would be impacted by the asphalt companies~I am an asthmatic and so are my two children. Under NO circumstances do I or my neighbors want two asphalt plants near our children and/or schools! The zoning as mentioned in the article clearly states the area was NOT intended to have asphalt plants near the residental areas. “The Land of Virginia site permits heavy industrial uses but was proffered in 1989 to not allow asphalt plants”. 1989 would have been just before the boom of residental homes in the Bristow/Linton Hall area. My home was built in 2001.
We are greatly concerned about our health, property value and traffic issues. I am not sure how that information can be “completly false”. I think it is clear BRISTOW RESIDENTS WILL FIGHT THIS and we have the right to protect our communities. By the way…Thea Taylor has a right to protest and I agree with her 100%. Go Thea and thanks to Victory Lakes and Saybrooke residents for fighting this battle!!! We can make a difference.
Do these residents realize that there is already an asphalt plant in their backyard. The one on Wellington just past the Parkway….just behind the rental center. It has been there for a long time. Way before any of these neighborhoods were developed.
“The Land of Virginia site permits heavy industrial uses but was proffered in 1989 to NOT allow asphalt plants.“ Quoted from article.
These residents KNEW it was heavy industrial, but asphalt plants were excluded in 1989 that is what ‘proffered’ means.
They, the residents, are well within their rights to argue and oppose this. The county or planning commission has no right to change the rules just because they need the business. There are other places to put this kind of business well away from neighborhoods. I hope they keep fighting till they win.
Many people move into places where the zoning is not clear, has not been disclosed by the realtor or has changed. You can’t blame the residents there, especially when there are other industries that do not want the asphalt plants there either.
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