Junkyard has vested rights, says commission

The Alleghany County Board of Commissioners agreed that Old Quarry Scrap and Auto Salvage has vested rights to operate at its meeting on Aug. 6.

Daniel Roten, owner of the business, appeared before the board appealing a decision by County Planner Amy Pardue, based on a legal opinion by County Attorney Donna Shumate, that the business did not have vested rights.

However, Shumate said at the meeting that she had heard evidence presented during the meeting that was not presented to her earlier. The matter was brought to Pardue's attention after a complaint was made about the business operating outside the county's Property Rights Protection Ordinance and High Impact Land Use Ordinance. Mr. Roten's father is Steve Roten, a N.C. Highway Patrol trooper who served on the committee that helped draft the PRPO. The elder Roten stated that he told his son to visit county officials to decide what needed to be done to get his business recognized prior to the adoption of the ordinance.

Daniel Roten then approached Amy Pardue and asked questions about the matter prior to the adoption of the ordinance, which took place on May 15, 2006.

Roten scraps junk cars and other metal, which typically are stored on his property prior to transport.

Had the county not granted vested rights to Roten, he would not have been able to continue operating the business on the site. Under the ordinance, a junkyard cannot be located within 2,000 feet of a protected structure, which includes homes, churches and other structures.

Although Roten was operating his business in early 2006, he didn't actually incorporate under the name "Old Quarry Scrap and Auto Salvage" until later that year. The commissioners found that evidence showed that he had operated his business, including buying and selling scrap metal and storing junk cars on the property prior to the founding of the PRPO.

 

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