SALISBURY — A two-acre yard-waste recycle site in Enochville received the approval of the Rowan County Planning Board after a lengthy public comment period that included speakers on both sides of the issue.

Joseph Keller requested a conditional district that would allow him to establish a yard-waste recycling site that both he and Planning Director Ed Muire said would only be allowed to receive limbs, stumps and leaves in order to turn them into mulch. The two-acre waste site would be placed within the 95-acre property that Keller owns and already uses to excavate dirt for the past several years, according to a staff report.

Keller said that he was asking for the conditional district in order to create a place where businesses and residents in Southern Rowan County could dump their waste without having to drive across the county to the landfill in Woodleaf.

“We never know when we’re going to have a huge next storm and it can pile up and be like ‘hey where are we going to take it?’ We’re having to drive an hour down to the landfill, 35, 25 minutes making these round trips, when we’ve got a place that’s only five minutes away. We can get rid of the stuff and really help the community and turn it into something good,” said Keller during the meeting.

Several local business owners spoke in support of the idea and Keller. One, Richard Ervin, said that Keller helped him get a start in his business by showing him how to be an honest businessman. Ervin also agreed with Keller’s complaint that the only place to dump waste was an hour away from his business, and the site in Enochville would help him cut down costs and help with development on the Southern side of the county in the future.

Residents who spoke in opposition said that Keller has had problems with keeping issues on his property contained. The main historical issue that neighbors had was a fire that burned on the property in March of last year.

“At one point, fire was about 40 feet from our residence and less than that to a shop that was still open. So I ask that you take into account what happened with the fire and smoke and that fire burned for almost six months,” said Randy Carter, a neighbor who said he’s also a firefighter with Enochville Fire Department and works in fire service in Kannapolis.

Keller along with his wife and son all spoke about the emotional and physical toll that they say the fire had on him.

“My husband went out there and fought, it was awful. He didn’t sleep for almost a week straight. The whole time he was always, anybody had any complaint, he would go up on the bulldozer and try and push dirt, cover it up, try and put it out any way he could,” said Amy Keller.

Other residents spoke out about the repeated issues that they said they have experienced with Keller in the past. Those issues included dust from the property affecting nearby properties and dirt from the operation being left on the road. Carter also said that there was a 35-to-40-foot drop-off only six to 10 feet behind his property.

“If Mr. Keller had been a good neighbor through these past years of running the dirt pit and other things, you probably wouldn’t be hearing from me. But he’s got to be a good neighbor, and I don’t think this is going to be ran the way y’all are laying it out to be. I think we’ll get a few years down the road and it’ll be a mess,” said Len Beaver.

Muire noted after the public comment period that if Keller attempts to use the site for anything else or exceeds the two-acre limit he would need to return before the planning board and request to amend his conditional district request again.

Muire also said that Keller will be required to receive a permit from the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality after he receives approval from the county.

The decision by the planning board is not final. The approval will be presented as a recommendation to the Rowan County Board of Commissioners, who will make the final decision.