Idaho Timber neighbors try to clear the air


A straightforward rezoning request turned the Henderson City Council into an almost powerless grievance board Monday night.

Idaho Timber isn’t trying to change its business or expand its South Henderson operations, and it doesn’t need the change to an I-2 (industrial) designation to continue to operate its lumber yard. That use predates the zoning ordinance, and while Idaho Timber has been there only seven years, the site has been industrial since at least 1941, Planning Director Grace Smith said.

General manager Keith Larue said the only reason for bothering with the rezoning is his plan to build a brick office on Nicholas Street to replace the office Idaho Timber now leases. He said the construction at most will add a couple of office jobs and might not bring any change to Idaho Timber’s local work force of 65.

A lumber yard is allowed by right in an I-2 zone, Smith said, so the City Council couldn’t place any conditions on the rezoning from R-6 and R-8M (two high-density residential districts) for the area along Nicholas Street, Skenes Avenue and Cedar Street.

The fact that most of the 15-acre site sits outside the city in the Extra-Territorial Jurisdiction further reduces Henderson’s influence.

None of that mattered to the residential neighbors of Idaho Timber, five of whom used the required public hearing on the zoning to bring complaints about noise, dust, drainage and damage.

Speakers such as Joe Johnson acknowledged that they had no problem with the rezoning, which merely recognizes reality, and they said they understand the need for all the jobs Henderson can get.

But they wanted some consideration for the fact that they have to live by the lumber yard and don’t believe that Idaho Timber is doing all it can to be a good neighbor.

Council member Elissa Yount praised Idaho Timber for improving the appearance of Nicholas Street. “Mr. Larue has cleaned up that area tremendously.”

Still, council member Harriette Butler said the problem isn’t appearance, it’s proximity. She approved of what she saw when she drove by Idaho Timber earlier Monday, but she said it is “shocking” how close the industrial operations are to homes.

“You should not have to live in those conditions,” she told the lumber yard’s neighbors.

The council confronted another reality: The residents’ complaints don’t quite fit the city’s services. The city’s noise ordinance only applies at night, isn’t aimed at industrial violations and doesn’t cover the ETJ area anyway. The air-quality issues raised by the dust fall outside the city’s domain. (Kerr-Tar Regional Council of Governments planner Rick Seekins, in the audience before making a Team Vance presentation, suggested taking the dust and noise complaints to the state’s Division of Air Quality, although Larue said Idaho Timber meets all noise standards.) Smith referred the drainage issues to the city Department of Public Works, which again could run into problems with the ETJ.

Council member Mary Emma Evans made the point that the zoning had nothing to do with the complaints: Rezoning wouldn’t increase the problems, and not rezoning wouldn’t reduce them.

“But the city, in my opinion, should have some role in mediation between its residents and its corporate citizens,” Mayor Clem Seifert said.

Council member John Wester suggested delaying action for a week to allow the business and residents to work out their differences while the pending rezoning provided motivation for Idaho Timber to make concessions, but Larue said time is a factor because he needs the new office built before his office lease expires in June.

The best hope for city action could be the water system, Wester said, because of local flooding and claims that tractor-trailers regularly break pipes running under the roads. (From the audience, Sara Coffey suggested that the city check whether the roads are rated to hold the weight of the trucks.)

Seifert said he’s confident Larue and the residents can settle their differences if they meet with city representatives, and he referred the Idaho Timber complaints to the council’s Land Planning and Development Committee.

And after nearly 40 minutes of discussion, the City Council did the inevitable and accepted the Planning Board’s recommendation for the rezoning, with the exception of an isolated parcel that Idaho Timber dropped from the request to avoid spot-zoning. Only Butler dissented in the 5-1 vote (health issues kept Bernard Alston and Ranger Wilkerson at home).

In other action Monday night, the council:

* Approved six minor budget amendments, three of which closed the books on the capital improvements project for Phase II of the Aycock Recreation Complex.

* Approved ordinances allowing the demolition of structures at 831 Beckford Drive, 1570 E. Andrews Ave. and 412 Thomas St. The council stipulated that Code Compliance Director Corey Williams should arrange a stay of action against the Beckford Drive site, where owner Larry Worley said he is in the process of repairing the side structure in question.

* Postponed a public hearing on the rezoning of 0.84 acre at the corner of Beckford Drive and Andrews Avenue until March 21.

* Watched Seekins’ PowerPoint presentation on Team Vance and its three-year mission to make Vance County a vibrant, economically thriving place by 2012. Team Vance member Dennis Tharrington assisted with the presentation, and team members in the audience included Gateway’s Cornell Manning, Maria Parham Medical Center’s Marolyn Rasheed, Vance County Board of Education member Margaret Ellis and Vance Schools Superintendent Norm Shearin.

* Passed a resolution to accept Schewel Furniture’s net offer of $90,000 for 0.42 acre on Beckford Drive by the Operations & Service Center. The city will advertise for any bidders who wish to top that offer.

* Reappointed council members Lonnie Davis and Ranger Wilkerson to the 911 Advisory Board, effective in April.

* Referred City Attorney John Zollicoffer’s draft local legislation for the state to allow a downtown maintenance code in Henderson back to a committee for consideration.

* Discussed ways to fill a frozen Recreation Department position that would serve special-needs people. Recreation Director Alan Gill said he could use an Aycock donor’s money to pay for the position through the end of June, and there’s a good chance of landing an Americorps worker, who would cost the city only $4,000, to do the job for a year starting in mid-August. Seifert suggested filling the gap with a temp worker.

* Postponed until next Monday’s meeting several items tacked onto the end of the agenda at the request of council members Yount and Mike Rainey.

* Met for about five minutes in a closed session to discuss an undisclosed property acquisition. Seifert requested the session, which led to no action in open session. The mayor’s most public property issue of late has been his push to demolish the old South Henderson School and buy the 2-acre site.