WESTMINSTER — A plan by Genstar Stone Products Co. to improve efficiency at its blacktop plant won't increase noise, dust or traffic, a company engineer said.
Genstar requested permission Wednesday from the county Board of Zoning Appeals to install a silo and conveyor belt at itsplant on Meadow Branch Road.
Blacktop would be stored in the silo after it's mixed at the plant and before it's poured into trucks, said Robert S. Gray, senior project engineer.
The silo would allow the company to store up to 150 tons of material, which could be poured directly into trucks that can hold 20 tons, he said.
Now, Genstar must pour material directly from a mixer into the trucks. The mixer has a capacity of only 2 tons, which means it must go through several cycles tofill a truck, said Genstar attorney Charles O. Fisher Sr. of Westminster.
The company doesn't plan to increase output if the silo and conveyor are approved, Gray said.
Genstar produced 56,000 tons of blacktop last year, he said. The county purchased about 30 percent of it, he said.
The silo and conveyor project willcost about $50,000, Gray said.
Leo Barnes, who lives on Meadow Branch Road near the plant, expressed concern about the road oncethe nearby Carroll County Airport is expanded. Meadow Branch Road will dead-end near the plant when the airport is expanded, he said.
Fisher said the county roads department had reviewed Genstar's plans and had no problems.
Gray said the company has contacted the Federal Aviation Administration about whether the silo, which will be 75 feet high, will need to have red lights to warn incoming planes.
The Board of Zoning Appeals will issue a written decision on the case within "a reasonable period," Chairman John Totura said.