Ohio shingle recycler seeks operating permit

Roof to Road LLC, which has been operating an asphalt shingle recycling facility in Columbus, Ohio, for about six years, has taken steps to correct a zoning issue and has applied to the city to receive the proper permitting to operate in a part of the city zoned M-1 Manufacturing.

The Columbus City Council approved a zoning variance in July for the facility, which is zoned for manufacturing but still needs a variance for this type of business, where asphalt shingles are stored, ground and processed to be used as road materials.

Before receiving final approval, the Board of Zoning Adjustments has requested the company put together an environmental study that it can present to the board. Jamie Freise, the case planner who has been working on the Roof to Roads project, says the company hopes to be able to present the study and make the official request by the zoning adjustment board’s January, 2015, meeting. In the meantime, the company will continue to operate its shingle recycling facility.

According to one news report, the company claims it received incorrect advice when the company first opened, and had been hit with a civil case in 2009 by the Columbus prosecutor’s office, which said Roof to Road was not operating with the proper zoning or permits.

According to a report by the Columbus Dispatch, one group that had initially opposed the project, the Southwest Area Commission, finally decided to work out a compromise and support the application to the zoning board. The commission, however, placed conditions on the business. Among them:

• the duration of the council variance and special permit will be 10 years;
• the maximum height of any shingle pile will be 30 feet; and
• an independent lab will test shingles for asbestos, and the results will be shared with the city and Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.

Freise says that Roof to Road had approached the board in April 2013 seeking to correct the problem.