A proposal to build concrete and asphalt batch plants at Northwest Highway and Garland Road is meeting resistance from neighbors.
By Sam Gillespie
Twelve hours into Wednesday’s Dallas City Council meeting, District 9 Councilwoman Paula Blackmon’s motion to deny approval for a special use permit for concrete and asphalt batch plants at Zacha Junction was unanimously supported by her colleagues on the Council. Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Adam McGough seconded the motion.
The motion was “with prejudice,” meaning the applicant, Martin Marietta and Austin Bridge, will not be able to make a similar request for two years.
The denial was in stark contrast to the Plan Commission’s approval of the same request by a 13-1 vote March 5. At the May 27 meeting, the Council delayed consideration of the permit so East Dallas neighborhoods could weigh in.
And weigh in they did, with 25 people taking their allotted one minute to express their opinion and asking the Council to vote against the proposal.
Dallas Cothrum of MasterPlan, representing the applicant, was the only voice to speak in favor of the request. Cothrum emphasized the site’s rail service would significantly reduce heavy truck traffic during the reconstruction of Interstate 635 East, the catalyst for the applicant’s request.
