GREELEY — A Colorado court has overturned Weld County’s approval of a $20 million concrete and asphalt plant currently under construction, saying the county had evidence the plant would violate noise standards.
The Greeley Tribune reports the Colorado Court of Appeals ruled on Wednesday that the county commissioners improperly approved the Martin Marietta Materials plant near a residential neighborhood.
The site is also near an organic farm and a planned wedding venue along U.S. 34 between Greeley and Loveland.
Officials for Martin Marietta and Weld County said they were reviewing the decision before deciding their next steps.
County commissioners approved the plant in August 2015 and neighbors filed suit a month later.
Construction began in October of 2015, and Martin Marietta regional vice president David Hagerman says the plant is nearly complete.
In explaining the meaning of the ruling regarding a lack of competent evidence, Judge Terry Fox, who wrote the opinion, cited previous court cases and basically affirmed something neighbors to the plant have been saying for years.
“Lack of competent evidence occurs when the administrative decision is so devoid of evidentiary support that it can only be explained as an arbitrary and capricious exercise of authority,” Fox said, quoting a previous case.