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REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION
ORDINANCE: 2004 -6
SUBJECT: Ordinance Regulating Concrete and Asphalt Plants
ADDRESS: N/A
RECOMMENDATION: Approval
FUNDING SOURCE: N/A
SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND OF SUBJECT MATTER:
The City of Lakewood zoning regulations allow the operation of concrete and asphalt plants in Industrial zones with a Special Use Permit. There is one concrete plant in operation in north Lakewood on Industrially zoned land. The plant has been in operation since prior to the requirement for a Special Use Permit. At present, there are no asphalt plants operating within Lakewood.
The City currently has no regulations that specifically address impacts from concrete and asphalt plants. Such impacts can include air emissions, dirt tracking, noise and traffic congestion from trucking operations and water quality degradation. The State of Colorado does have regulations regulating air emissions and dirt tracking onto public roadways from such asphalt and concrete plants. However, as was the case with crematorium air emissions in 2002, the State is not always able to respond in a timely manner to problems created by the operation of asphalt and concrete plants.
For the City to enforce air emission and dirt tracking standards and otherwise control impacts from such plants, legal considerations require that a local ordinance be passed.
Council discussed this proposed ordinance at the July 7, 2003 Study Session and directed that an ordinance be brought forward to Council.
Council did want additional research into the issues of: 1) hours of operation, 2) fees for a license, 3) whether paved parking for employees was needed, 4) whether there were similar problems with Lakewood Brick, 5) dust concerns from piles of stored material taller than 10 feet and 6) where other plants were located in the Denver Metropolitan area. These items are covered in the remainder of this document. After the Council study session, an ordinance draft was finalized and sent to an industry group for review. After receipt of their comments, the draft was further refined and again sent to the industry group for a second review.
The attached ordinance has the following provision for asphalt and concrete plant operations:
§ Air emission requirements are the same as the State of Colorado, i.e. 20% opacity during normal operations and 30% during initial startup or adjustment of air pollution control equipment. By state law, the city is prohibited from having more restrictive emissions requirements for asphalt and concrete plants.
§ Emissions from material handling are to be controlled by the application of water. This parallels state requirements and will address the issue of dust blowing from piles of stored material.
§ Between October 1 and May 31, hours of operation are limited to 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday and between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. on Sunday. The rest of the year, during the more active construction season, the plants may start up at 5:00 a.m. Monday through Saturday. The ordinance does allow for exemptions to these time restrictions on a case-by-case basis. Such exemption requests are reviewed by the City. Issues concerning hours of operation are explained later in this summary.
§ Approved truck routes must be established for ingress and egress between the plant and the nearest arterial streets.
§ Paved surfaces are required in areas where trucks and employee vehicles travel, maneuver, park, load and unload. In order to reduce dust and tracking from the site, the paving requirements include most areas where vehicles would kick up dust or track onto public roadways.
§ Drainage facilities are required to direct rainfall and other surface water to a stormwater detention pond.
§ All concrete and asphalt trucks have to be rinsed prior to leaving the site. The runoff from this washing has to be directed to special holding basins where the dirty water is treated. The resulting liquids and solids are to be disposed of according to applicable state and federal laws. This type of process is standard on plants in the Denver metro area.
§ When trucks leaving a concrete or asphalt plant track mud, gravel, concrete, asphalt or other debris out onto a public street, it is the responsibility of the plant operator to clean the public streets by sweeping. This requirement parallels state permit requirements. Including language in the Lakewood ordinance allows the city to enforce this requirement.
§ Existing and new asphalt and concrete plants must obtain a license from the City. The license fee is a one-time payment of $150.
§ Existing asphalt and concrete plants in Lakewood (there is one) have to follow the time schedule outlined in the proposed ordinance to process a license application, prepare a site plan and build the improvements The total time specified is 8 months.
§ The process for a new plant not already existing is the same, but there are fewer time limits. The plant does not obtain a license until the application meets ordinance requirements and improvements are built.
§ There is an appeal process available to the applicant as part of the licensing procedure.
§ A license, once issued, can be revoked or suspended based on violation of city, state or federal laws. A hearing process is available for suspensions or revocations and there is an appeal process.
§ Violations of this ordinance are punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000 or confinements for a period not to exceed 365 days or both.
In response to previous Council questions from the July 7, 2003 study session, a map showing the locations of asphalt and concrete plants in the metro area is attached. In response to questions about Lakewood Brick, we are informed that the company does not have an air permit from the state because there is an insufficient volume of air emissions from the brick baking process to trigger the permit requirement. The city has not experienced problems at Lakewood Brick with air emissions or dirt tracking onto public streets.
A question was asked whether the proposed start time should be 7 a.m. instead of 6 a.m. In researching the industry, the issues of outside temperature and concrete quality were found to be critical. During the spring and summer construction seasons, the concrete has to be rolling to the construction site by at least 5:30 or 6:00 a.m. to prevent the concrete from heating up and setting up too quickly once on the job site. The proposed ordinance has start times of 6:00 a.m. from October 1 to May 31 and, during the higher temperature portion of the construction season, 5:00 a.m. from June 1 to September 30. There is also language allowing a case-by-case special exemption from these times with the approval of the City.
At the July 7, 2003 Study Session, Council also asked about the originally proposed fee of $2000 to license an asphalt or concrete plant. The currently proposed ordinance now has a fee of $150 which is a fairly typical license fee charged by Lakewood.
Since the July 7 Study Session, the ordinance has been reviewed twice by the industry group. It is believed the city staff and industry have reached concurrence on all substantive issues.
DATE OF FIRST READING: April 12, 2004
DATE OF SECOND READING: April 26, 2004
ORIGINATED BY: Department of Public Works
STAFF PERSON RESPONSIBLE: Dick Plastino, Director of Public Works
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED: 1) Ordinance, 2) Map, 3) Minutes of July 7, 2003 Council Study Session
SUBMITTED BY:
Dick Plastino, Director of Public Works
REVIEWED BY:
Joni Inman, Director Mayor and City Manager's Office
Michael J. Rock, City Manager
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