Proposed asphalt plant clears first hurdle.

An Escondido, Calif., business owner who plans to open a small-scale, mobile asphalt plant in the city's industrial zone cleared his first hurdle March 16, according to a report in the North County (California) Times.

George Weir, owner of Escondido Sand & Gravel, an asphalt recycling plant, received approval from the City Council's two-member economic development subcommittee to bypass the Planning Commission and submit plans for his proposed project directly to the council for approval, according to the report.

The paper reports that Weir's proposed plant would produce 500 tons of asphalt per day on his 1-acre site, amounting to a considerably smaller project than proposed by Vulcan Materials Co. several years ago.

Weir says that in order to prove the safety and viability of his proposed plant, he has already invested tens of thousands of dollars in environmental studies and permit applications with the county's Air Pollution Control District, a process generally embarked upon only after receiving a conditional-use permit from the city.

Weir tells the North County Times that he expects to have all of his environmental approvals in hand by mid-spring, when he hopes to go before the City Council.

Normally, requests for permits to operate such an industrial facility must be vetted by the Planning Commission before reaching the City Council, a process that can add several months to a project.

Planning Director Charles Grimm says that projects can qualify for expedited processing based on their immediate benefits to the city and that a local shortage of asphalt would qualify, according to the report.

He also praises the fact that Weir is willing to invest in the permitting process before bringing the matter to the council.

The North County Times reports that Weir has operated an asphalt recycling plant in Escondido since 2001.

The proposed asphalt plant would include a 40-foot silo and produce around 500 tons of asphalt per day using substantial amounts of recycled materials from Sand & Gravel's current operations, according to Weir.

Weir's recycling facility, which houses mobile crushing equipment that produces sand, stone and a low-grade asphalt base, won City Council approval in 2001.

If approved,Weir's new asphalt plant would be one of only two operations in North County, following the closure earlier this year of the Vulcan Materials plant in Los Angeles.

Vulcan's closure has cut in half North County's supply of asphalt, which must be shipped and poured within approximately two hours of being mixed. As a result, local contractors increasingly rely on asphalt produced south of Miramar Marine Corps Air Station, resulting in increased transportation costs and contributing to already poor traffic conditions, he tells the North County Times.

In order to make his product more appealing to local markets and less competitive to outlying areas of North County, Weir tells the North County Times that he intends to price his asphalt somewhat higher than his competitors.

Those higher prices, Wier says, would be offset by cheaper transportation costs for Escondido and neighboring markets.