GRAY SUMMIT, MO (KMOX)-Citizens living near a proposed concrete plant are suing the Franklin County Commission over the rezoning of over 12 acres near the Shaw Nature Reserve in Gray Summit.
Great Rivers Environmental Law Center President Kathleen Henry filed the suit on behalf of the residents. She says they are concerned that the plant near the Shaw Nature Reserve on Old Gray Summit Road, would hurt property values. She says they also fear that they and the nature reserve would suffer from the dust, noise and increased traffic.
The suit is asking a trial court to overturn the rezoning that allows the plant to be built by Landvatter Ready Mix of Kirkwood.
Henry tells KMOX, “It allows industrial uses to be placed on land that is in a commercial district, without any special conditions on the industries that are allowed.”
Commission members argue that there are already commercial businesses, including a gas station and MoDOT shed nearby. Henry says a concrete plant is falls under a different definition, “The Missouri Department of Natural Resources and the Environmental Protection Agency both call concrete plants ‘industry’. We maintain a concrete plant is ‘heavy industry’ and is not the same as those other commercial uses that are there.”
The residents are also arguing that the commission did not take sufficient public comments before approving the rezoning.
A previous lawsuit filed against the commission prompted the developer to withdraw the application to build the plant and file a new application under a different zoning ordinance.
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