Stuff drops zoning change request

Published 9:07 am Wednesday, September 26, 2018

The owner of Stuff Recycling said he is abandoning plans to purchase about 12 acres on Clintonville Road.

A request to rezone the property to match Stuff Recycling’s site on Lexington Road was scheduled to be on the agenda for the Winchester-Clark County Planning Commission next week, but a letter sent to adjacent property owners said the matter had been withdrawn.

“It’s not worth the aggravation,” Stuff principal owner Jerry Joiner said. “We did everything we could to appease, so we just withdrew (the zoning request).”

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The zoning request drew heated opposition from surrounding property owners who were concerned about the business expanding as well as increased noise and pollution from the business.

In September, meetings of the planning commission and the board of adjustments attracted standing-room-only crowds, almost all of which seemed to be against the zoning request.

Joiner said previously the property would have provided additional storage and buffer space for the recycling operation as well as a possible entrance to the property.

“We didn’t need it in the first place,” Joiner said. “We decided to drop (the request) and save the money.”

Planning Director Rob Jeffries said he was notified of Stuff’s decision last week.

The zoning issue, he said, does not affect the hearing scheduled Thursday before the Board of Adjustments. The hearing, scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Clark County Extension Office on Fortune Drive, is in response to a complaint filed by Tresa Bridges about the business and its zoning.

The business and property was grandfathered in as B-4 business by the Board of Adjustments in 2012 with the provision Stuff not expand its recycling and business operations beyond the seven acres or so it occupied at the time.

Bridges believes Stuff has expanded its operation beyond those limits.

The meeting Thursday is open to the public and will be a full hearing, including testimony from Joiner and others.

About Fred Petke

Fred Petke is a reporter for The Winchester Sun, the Jessamine Journal and the State Journal. His beats include cops, courts, fire, public records, city and county government and other news. To contact Fred, email fred.petke@bluegrassnewsmedia.com or call 859-759-0051.

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