Scott County landfill protesters hope zoning appeal will slow expansion

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ)- A big crowd of people gathered at Scott County High School Tuesday night for the latest step in the controversial landfill expansion process.

Tuesday, the Board of Adjustment heard an appeal from the landfill’s owners. The owners say the County’s zoning director recently revoked the certification they need to expand, almost four years after the last zoning director gave them approval.

People who oppose the landfill say they hope it will help slow the expansion process.

The Central Kentucky Landfill already puts trash on 46 acres, but if it gets the permit it has been seeking for about five years it could expand trash disposal to another 25 acres.

“I really do not want it to expand,” Cary Williams said, “I’m not real favorable for people from other counties to bring their trash here.”

Some protesters, like Sallie Showalter, live just two miles away from the landfill. Showalter says she worries about more trucks driving on 25 North

“Unfortunately, this fall we lost one of our neighbors who was killed in an accident with two garbage trucks. It was visible and apparent to all of us that the traffic had increased,” Showalter said.

Jon Woodall, the attorney representing the landfill’s owners, says after a public comment period in January, the company is already addressing a lot of concerns like keeping trucks off of 25 North.

“That’s a big issue we feel we’ve been proactive about taking off the table,” Woodall said.

Addressing other concerns, Woodall says the city has always known the landfill would need to expand. He says it only has about five years capacity left.  It is part of the reason he feels it is wrong to be before the board of adjustment right now. He says the time to address zoning issues was about four years ago after the county issued the landfill a zoning certification.

“We feel like we’re very much in the right here and this process shouldn’t be happening, but it is so we have to do the best we can,” Woodall said.

The Board of Adjustment denied the landfill’s appeal. Woodall says he and his clients will have to re-evaluate their next steps.