Mountain View Paving asphalt plant in Talent, Oregon.
Yesterday Crag secured a favorable decision from a Jackson County Hearings Officer denying land use approval for an asphalt batch plant operation near Talent, Oregon. Crag client, Rogue Advocates, and local residents have spent over four years fighting to stop the operation of the Mountain View Paving asphalt batch plant in a residential zone and within the floodway of Bear Creek, a tributary to the Rogue River. After prevailing in several appeals before the Land Use Board of Appeals, Rogue Advocates is pleased to see a decision in its favor come out of Jackson County.
The decision grants an appeal by Rogue Advocates challenging a Jackson County finding that the asphalt plant could be approved as a grandfathered use within the residential zone. The opinion finds that the asphalt plant can’t be approved as a grandfathered use because it has been changed over the years and it now poses greater adverse impacts to the surrounding community.
Despite having never secured land use approval, the asphalt plant has continued to operate for over 14 years. Crag will continue to work with Rogue Advocates to ensure that this decision is enforced and that the unlawful operations are put to an end.