08-25-08: Titan project sparks talk of changing zoning laws

Now county officials have begun discussing ways to update the zoning ordinance to prevent polluting industries and major commercial projects from slipping by without scrutiny. The planning board will discuss the topic during a work session Wednesday.

Because Titan's site in Castle Hayne already is zoned for heavy industry - it's home to a closed cement plant and an active quarry - the project never had to go through the rezoning process. That involves public hearings, a recommendation from the planning board and, ultimately, a vote by the county commissioners.

The only vote the commissioners held on Titan's project was in April, on whether to give the company $4.2 million in economic incentives. They approved the incentives by a 4-1 vote.

These discussions are not specifically about Titan, said Chris O'Keefe, county planning director. Still, that project brought attention to the fact that it might be time to give officials a tool to review projects that could have large impacts on the environment and the surrounding community.

"It's going to be very difficult for people to separate Titan from this discussion, which is good because that is just the type of industry that we want to think about," O'Keefe said.

If built, Titan America's cement plant would make 2.31 million tons of cement each year. It could emit thousands of tons of pollutants a year and would become one of the area's top industrial polluters if built to the specifications in its air quality permit application. The associated stone mine could affect about 600 acres of wetlands along the Northeast Cape Fear River and Island Creek.

Various options will be discussed during Wednesday's workshop, O'Keefe said. For example, the county could create a new zoning district or some type of conditional zoning that would require an industry to submit a site plan, anticipated toxic releases, noise and other potential impacts.

The county also could require companies to present water and air quality permits before applying for conditional zoning, O'Keefe said.

Titan's plans will undergo a thorough review by state and federal environmental regulators, and public hearings will be held on major permits before they are granted. The commissioners repeatedly have said it will be up to those regulators to make sure the plant won't harm the environment or public health.

But that's not enough, said Doug Springer, the Cape Fear Riverkeeper and executive director of Cape Fear River Watch. He said local officials also should have the chance to review the project.

Springer asked the commissioners during the June 2 meeting to examine the zoning ordinance and explore ways to require projects like Titan to go through a special-use permit process, which would require commissioner approval and a public hearing.

"We are trying to reach out to county staff on how we move this forward," Springer said last week, adding that his organization will have its attorney draft and submit its own text amendment if county officials don't move forward.

Chris Mazzolini: 343-2223

chris.mazzolini@starnewsonline.com