
The Lee County Board of Adjustment voted Monday night to postpone a hearing about a proposed landfill on North Plank Road at the request of an attorney representing several of the property’s neighbors.
Lee County landowner Bobby Branch has submitted to the county plans for a construction and debris landfill on several hundred acres between North Plank Road and the Deep River in northwestern Lee County, and the Board of Adjustment was convened to consider his request for a special use permit.
But attorney Chip Post, who represented multiple neighboring families, apparently asked that the hearing be continued to a later date so that they could learn more about the project. It’s unclear when the next hearing will be held.
The plans, submitted in December of 2018, also show a recycling plant and an area for recyclable yard waste.

Even if the county Board of Adjustment finds that Branch proved everything he needed to in order to be granted the special use permit, he will still have to go before the county Board of Commissioners for a franchise, which is a legislative process in which the commissioners have far more discretion than the adjustment board, which is quasi-judicial and deals primarily with findings of fact.
And while it’s been several years since a major landfill was proposed locally, such projects have proven largely unpopular with local citizens. Branch is apparently represented by the same law firm that represented developer Ray Covington in his successful effort to place a rock quarry across N.C. Highway 87 from the Carolina Trace community.
This is not on South Plank it is near the Deep River on North Plank.Branch is proposing construction debris from 5 counties, if anyone ever rented a container for demolition anyone and anything is thrown in it, what can’t be recycled will be buried. Deep River is near by what will happen to ground water!!!
you’re right 100%
During Hurricane Florence, the creek next to 421 at N. Plank flooded and they shut the bridge down for weeks. Think about if we’d gotten the full brunt of hurricane Florence. That area would still be flooded. Point is that it is an area that is flood prone and no Landfill can ever go in close to the deep river. It is our water source. No compromise on our health and water quality and air quality!