Wellington approves Connell asphalt plant over residents' objections

Wellington's planning commission voted 6-1 Monday to approve an asphalt mixing plant for Connell Resources following a five-hour public hearing and nearly two dozen residents speaking mostly against the project.

Commissioner Lowrey Moyer was the lone vote against approving the plant. The planning commission is the last approval needed before Connell can apply for a building permit, although the decision could be appealed to Larimer County District Court.

The site is located west of Interstate 25 in an industrial zone on a lot south of County Road 66 between North County Road 7 and North County Road 9, adjacent to Buffalo Creek subdivision and the undeveloped Sundance subdivision. The land has been zoned industrial for more than 20 years, and the zoning was reaffirmed in the town's recent land use code update, town planner Cody Bird said.

Residents living near the proposed Connell asphalt plant, 3548 E. County Road 66, voiced concerns about noise and truck traffic, but most focused on the potential toxins emitted by the plant that mixes asphalt for use in roads and highways.

Three independent environmental studies presented by Connell, a consultant and the Larimer County health department showed toxic emissions including benzene, toluene and others were minimal and far below emissions levels set by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and were no more than those emitted by fast food restaurants and gas stations.

Lea Schneider, an environmental health planner with Larimer County, said the Environmental Protection Agency in 2002 removed asphalt plants from its list of major sources of hazardous air pollution under the Clean Air Act. The EPA still monitors the emissions and requires permits and regular testing to make sure emissions stay within safe levels.

The company has between four and seven active environmental state permits, depending on its current activities, to which they are required to comply with and monitor daily to operate the plant, Connell said. The permits regulate everything from air emissions to stormwater runoff.

Connell President John Warren said the company has had one compliance issue in 30 years, which Connell self reported, and it was fined $7,000 by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Warren the company was doing a self-performed test and had a mechanical issue at the beginning of the test and shut it down. CDPHE considers a shutdown test to be a failed test, he said.

"We didn't know that; we didn't understand that," he said.

The company passed the retest but got a compliance letter a year later with the fine.

"I wish we wouldn't have paid that now, but at the time didn't feel it was worth fighting anymore," Warren said.

As part of the settlement, CDPHE included language that the settlement "shall not constitute admission of violation of air quality laws nor shall a third party infer it to be such an admission."

Opponents were not swayed by the environmental data and cited data from Australia and elsewhere stating the level of pollutants generated by asphalt mixing plant may be greater than reported.

"The site plan will not promote the general welfare of town residents," Brittany Cowan said. "It will have an impact on the public health and at greater levels than the state has said. We will not back down from this. This is our town."

Residents said Wellington's Board of Adjustments erred when it approved two variances for the plant in October, including reducing a required 1,000-foot buffer from residential areas to 800 feet, and they asked the planning commission to send the application back to the BOA. They argued the town's land use code requires a setback of 2,640 feet for companies producing toxic chemicals.

Erin Ramler said the land use code does not distinguish between minor and major levels of emissions. "All toxic chemical emissions require the setback," Ramler said.

She urged the board to send the site plan back to the Board of Adjustment and warned the commission: "Do not underestimate the resolve of the concerned citizens of this community. We have legal recourse and are prepared to see this legal battle through."

Quoting the town's strategic plan, Ramler said the town strives to make Wellington one of the best small towns in America to live, work and raise a family. "No one wants to raise a family in a toxic town," she said.

Resident Ayla Leistikow said Connell itself lists the toxins it produces in its application data.

"It doesn't matter how safe the concentrations are," she said, arguing the plant could go elsewhere in Larimer County or Greeley.

Connell's attorney Carolynne White said if the chemicals are toxic enough that their presence even at barely measurable levels requires the larger setback, it should be applied "uniformly to all potential sources no matter how small," implying that gas stations and fast food restaurants should have had the same setbacks. "I don't think that is how you've been doing it, and it's not how it was approached here."

Lisa Clay, who owns the property on which Connell wants to build, questioned why residents bought their houses next to an existing industrial area if they objected to the project.

"To say we're doing something wrong doesn't seem fair," she said.

Clay portrayed Connell as a longstanding, family-owned company that won't do anything harmful to the area.

Likewise, Jason Waldo, whose family owns the property adjacent to Clay's, said he's "watched the company bend over backwards for neighbors" and pointed out the plant would not operate in winter, weekends or most evenings.

"My family couldn't be happier. I could not support this more," Waldo said.

Connell Resources' current plant, which is nearing the end of its lifespan, is just south of the Harmony Road and Interstate 25 intersection in Timnath. Connell plans to close the plant and redevelop it as a commercial and residential project, including a potential Topgolf entertainment center.

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About the proposed Connell Resources asphalt plant in Wellington

• Acres: 35

• Estimated number of truck trips during production season: 50 to 60 per day

• Operating hours/months: 7 a.m. to 5 or 6 p.m., April through November

• Employees: 35

• Traffic: About 256 truck trips per day. Trucks would routed to County Road 66 to County Road 7, then to Owl Canyon to access Interstate 25.

• Water: Nonpotable water that will be trucked in by Connell will be used for most operations except restrooms and office uses.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Wellington approves asphalt plant over residents' objections