It looks as if 2021 will be a repeat of 2020. Jeff Shipman of SE Asphalt has reapplied for a conditional rezoning to build his hot mix asphalt drum plant on the northeast corner of Hwy 25 & Hwy 176 (exit 7) in East Flat Rock. The new application (Conditional Rezoning Request #R-2021-01-CD) is being submitted under the name of HS Shipman, LLC (a new LLC created by Jeff Shipman on August 26, 2020).

According to an Air Dispersion Modeling Analysis conducted by Bunnell Lammons Engineering in Greenville, SC in August 2020, the proposed hot mix asphalt plant will have a baghouse approximately 3 and a half stories tall and two storage silos approximately 6 stories tall.

Matt Champion, Project Development Planner and Zoning Administrator at the Henderson County Planning Department, said the new application was received on or just a few days before February 19, 2021 (that’s the date the application was put into the folder and he said Planning Director Autumn Radcliff could confirm the precise date). Champion also said there is a required 6-month waiting period before any reapplication will be heard before the Planning Board, but the application can be submitted at any time.

The Neighborhood Compatibility Meeting will be held Tuesday, March 30, 2021 at 4:00 pm and the Planning Board Meeting is scheduled for April 15, 2021 at 5:30 pm. Both will be live, in-person meetings at the East Henderson High School Auditorium at 150 Eagle Pride Dr, East Flat Rock, NC 28726. NOTE: THIS VENUE HAS CHANGED TO Blue Ridge Community College Thomas Auditorium, 180 W Campus Drive, Flat Rock, NC 28731.

Matt Champion confirmed that the public will be allowed to ask questions about the proposed asphalt plant at the Neighborhood Compatibility Meeting, similar to the first Neighborhood Compatibility Meeting that took place last year on June 8, 2020.

The current master site plan can be seen here: https://www.hendersoncountync.gov/sites/default/files/fileattachments/planning/page/118821/master_plan.pdf

More information can be seen on the Henderson County Government website at https://www.hendersoncountync.gov/planning/page/upcoming-planning-department-meetings