Proposal for landfill has northwest Charlotte community concerned

CHARLOTTE — Neighbors in northwest Charlotte are concerned about a proposal to build a landfill near their homes.

They turned out Monday night to hear the proposal, ask questions and speak against it in a public forum held at a library.

The landfill could be built off Kelly Road, between Oakdale and Pleasant Grove roads in Oakdale North.

One neighbor said it’s a health issue and they don’t want a third landfill in their community.

“There are multiple school bus stops within a hundred feet of this access on Pleasant Grove Road,” Daniel Campbell said. “It will affect the air we breathe, the water we drink.”

But the view is threatened by the property owner’s decision to sell the land with a landfill taking its place.

“We can see ‘that’ out of our back window for the rest of our lives if we stay here,” Campbell said. “It’s unbelievable to think about.”

Charlotte City Councilmember James Mitchell said he backs the residents who are against the plan.

“Would I want to invest my hard-earned dollars building my dream home committed to staying there and then have a landfill right beside me? No,” Mitchell told Channel 9 government reporter Joe Bruno.

Complicating things is the project can be built by right.

Approval by the Charlotte City Council is not necessary.

Mitchell, Campbell and a group of neighbors are meeting with the property and landfill owners to see if they can compromise by doing things, such as moving the location of the access road and extending the buffer between the landfill and houses

Mitchell said in the long term, the city needs to review its zoning code that allows landfills in certain parts of the area that have homes.

“Put it beside a concrete plant and other landfills, but don’t put it beside residential (areas),” he said.

Campbell agrees with Mitchell.

“Oakdale should not be landfill heaven,” Campbell said.

The city has a limited role in this because it can be built by right.

However, Mitchell said the state has a bigger role.

The Department of Environmental Quality will have to approve the landfill after an extensive review process.

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