R.C. Commission Says ‘NO’ To New “State-Of-The-Art” Saw Mill In Cedar Hill

The Depot Banner AdSmokey Barn News June 17, 2013

saw sliderMr J. Phillip Sneed requested to rezone 47.36 acres from AG-2 (Agricultural/Residential) and R-40 (Low Density Residential District) to I-2  (Heavy Industrial District) that would allow a possible future owner of the land to build a sawmill on the property located on Buzzard Creek Rd.

Many residents from the Buzzard Creek area attended the Robertson County Commission meeting Monday and expressed their concern about having a saw mill as their neighbor. One resident requested that the board honor a previous vote against the saw mill. Bob Sneed, a resident of Cedar Hill for 40 years said his brother Phil owns the property and should have the freedom to do what he wants. Cedar Hill commissioner Martha (Muffy) Arrington said the town is barely making ends meet with beer sales and taxes. A long time ago the town decided on an ordinance that would not allow a saw mill in the city limits but that they need to change that because as it stands now Cedar Hill could not have a Lowe’s or an Ace Hardware, much less a saw mill. Cedar Hill will be looking into making changes to the age-old ordinance.

Another resident (a logger by trade) said that he had no trouble with a saw mill but if it quits in 5 years what will come next. Dowlen is a good man but down the road we could have a junkyard or garbage dump. There is no limit to what we can do after you (the commission) has changed it. Do y’all want a car crusher next to your house?

Commissioner Bubba Dorris said that one saw mill had caught fire this year (See Video Of Fire Here) and expressed concern about available water supplies if the new proposed saw mill catches fire.

John Dowlen said the proposed state-of-the-art facility saw mill would create about 25 new jobs. Dowlen said his current saw mill is by a quiet school bus stop and has never had any issues. We use no chemicals in our process, it’s all natural green saw dust and is not flammable.

Ultimately the board voted and the resolution failed with 5 voting yes 17 voting no.

As a side note:  Cedar Hill does not have a planning commission of their own so the decision defaults back to the Robertson County Commission. Smokey was told that other than the large crowd  that attended Monday’s meeting opposed to the mill, the commission office received a lot of calls opposing it as well.  So it would seem that the commission did what the people wanted, or at least a good portion of the 3oo or so residents that make up Cedar Hill.

So (for the moment at least) there will be no new saw mill on Buzzard Creek Rd.

Jim Ball reporting

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