Permit for asphalt and concrete plant in Park County withdrawn by owner

After an overstuffed planning commission meeting last month concerning the addition of a concrete and asphalt plant to the Elle Belle Mine just outside of Fairplay, the owner has now withdrawn their proposed conditional use permit, citing the aggressive public outcry as the main reason. 

Director of Operations for Park County Mike Smith put it very plainly. "That is the end of that process," he told your reporter in the mountains Spencer Wilson. "His application was withdrawn."

While the property owner Scott Downen did not agree to an interview regarding his latest decision, the county confirmed they received notice he was pulling the permit due to "public pressure." 

Roy Jackson, who lives near the mine, said this was welcome news for his fellow neighbors and himself. He attended the packed meeting previously, and felt the potential for added traffic along his road, along for the possibility of pollutants was enough to speak out. 

"There's a lot of people who don't want it to happen," Jackson said. "I was happy, that is all I can say"

More than one hundred people showed up in person to protest the mine addition, and the county ended up postponing the meeting until they could hold it in a space that would accommodate the crowd. 

Now, that meeting is back to it's regular scheduled room, now that the hot button topic has been cleared. 

Smith said he believes the county learned a thing or two from that meeting with the public. 

 "Education to the public would probably be one of the biggest opportunities," Smith said. "It appeared that there was a misunderstanding of how the process works, people were trying to protest it long before we even had an application."