C&D Recycler Goes Before the Board

Kirk C&D Recycling, a company that hopes to receive a special use permit to operate a construction and demolition facility at a location in Bloomington Township, Ill., appeared in front of the McLean (Illinois) County Board of Appeals on Oct. 7. The location already is zoned for manufacturing. However, a special use permit is required to operate a C&D facility at the location.

According to a representative from the McLean County Zoning Board, the company had been operating at the site without the permit. However, it has stopped the operation while looking to receive a special use permit.

The Zoning Board of Appeals will weigh a number of factors before deciding whether or not to issue a recommendation for the facility. Some of the factors that the board will look at include the impact the C&D facility will have on the surrounding area; the level of dust and noise that will be generated by the operation; what type of fencing is included at the site; and the impact the operation will have on traffic in the area.

Some of the steps that the zoning board staff has requested the company do include constructing a 9-foot high fence, and the installation of a water system to reduce the dust.

While the agency was expected to make its decision after the meeting, Tom  Kirk, president of Kirk C&D Recycling, said the board has opted to table a decision until its next meeting, scheduled Nov. 4. According to Kirk, the sole opposition to the facility was a catering hall that was located close to the proposed facility.

At the same time, a number of other facilities located in the surrounding area came out either in favor of the facility or took no issue with the facility, says Kirk.

As for several of the largest concerns about the construction and demolition facily, Kirk says that most of these are being addressed, including the installation of a fence to shield the facility from the public, putting a water system on the site to reduce the level of dust, and a business plan that limits the materials to be taken in to only construction and demolition material.