Commissioners take on junkyard, planning board issues

Robert Boyer / Times-News

Two controversial votes marked the Alamance County Board of Commissioners meeting Monday.

In one, the board unanimously rejected an appeal from Dewey Smithey, who runs a junkyard at 4825 Union Ridge Road, near Lake Cammack north of Burlington.

The commissioners also filled four of five vacancies on the county planning board, unanimously voting for incumbent Thomas Jones and newcomers Tommy Bray, Brenda Loy and Kevin Clarke.

Spurred by a request from two other incumbents seeking to remain on the board, the vote, though, paved the way for possible changes regarding the number of board members and how long they can serve.

The junkyard is illegal, county planners say.

Planning Manager Jason Martin said Smithey's business, D&W Motors, failed to follow the county's previous ordinance regarding car graveyards and its current and more restrictive High Impact Land Uses/Permanent Industries Ordinance.

Businesses that complied with the earlier ordinance could remain in operation after the commissioners passed the latter ordinance in 2006.

According to the high impact ordinance's preface, it was enacted "for the purpose of promoting the health, safety, and general welfare of the citizens of Alamance County," and establishes "certain criteria" for industries that "by their very nature produce objectionable levels of noise, odors, vibrations, fumes, light, smoke, and/or other impacts upon the lands adjacent to them."

The ordinance requires buffers, setbacks, and spacing requirements, among other things. Violation is a misdemeanor that can lead to fines and jail time.

Martin showed photographs of several vehicles among trees and tangled in vegetation, and some that were on a neighbor's property.

Smithey said he tried and failed to get permits from the county after opening his business in 1980 and asked the board to resolve the situation "in a sensible way."

Losing the appeal would end his business, he said.

County Attorney Clyde Albright said Smithey could have sought an court injunction to halt the county's actions, but didn't.

Smithey also acknowledged that a neighbor and the county Environmental Health Department had sued him over his business, and that he hasn't completely complied with a court order from several years ago requiring him to remove the cars off the neighbor's property.

Smithey said the junkyard doesn't "hurt anybody" and isn't a threat to the environment. Tony Cox, who moved his business to Caswell County from northern Alamance County after losing a similar appeal, said the ordinance is being used to "destroy businesses, to destroy families."

Martin presented a petition signed by at least 50 Union Ridge residents who want the junkyard closed. He recommended rejecting Smithey's appeal, which went against the county Planning Board's recommendation of a waiver for Smithey.

The board eventually voted 5-0 in favor of Martin's recommendation.

Smithey said after the vote that he will appeal the commissioners' decision to Superior Court.

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