Union City Council Dec. 19 unanimously approved a text amendment to the city’s zoning ordinance to include “inert waste landfill operations” in Light Industrial zoning areas.

The move came after large land owner and developer Matt Ornstein made the request.

Recommendations by city staff included the provision that the zoning amendment be held to a landfill of no more than 25 acres. Another consideration, that of the maximum height of landfill, remained unclear as council members voted in favor of the request. In her briefing to the council, Community Development Director Ann Lippmann said the height of the facility could not extend more than 0 feet, 5 feet or 10 feet above the highest grade point of adjacent property or any street right-of-way.

After listening to the information provided, a motion was made to accept the recommendation of Lippmann and the Planning Commission. That motion did not clarify the height in question. The council will take up the issue at a later meeting.

Waste acceptable for disposal in inert landfills includes earth and earth-like products, concrete, cured asphalt, rock, bricks, yard trimmings, stumps, limbs and leaves. Such waste products are considered less likely to cause the production of leachate that would pose environmental concerns. Construction and demolition debris and household trash are prohibited in inert landfills.

Though not stated at the meeting, a possible site for an inert landfill in the Light Industrial area would include a recently annexed area on the city’s northeast side, south of the South Fulton Parkway.

The city zoning ordinance already permits inert landfills in areas zoned for Heavy Industrial uses.

The amended ordinance mandates that any required state permits be obtained, that a land disturbance permit be obtained and that all requirements of the Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Ordinance are satisfied.

login to post comments