The Hays Board of Zoning Appeals unanimously denied a request by F & F Iron and Metal Company on Thursday morning for a special use permit to construct a full-service recycling facility near 13th street.

The facility would have processed and recycled ferrous scrap metals including cars, as well as acid batteries. Board members and the members of a standing-room only crowd brought up concerns about the noise, property depreciation and the overall placement of the proposed facility.

“When we created the most recent comprehensive plan….we identified 13th Street as a good place for new residential construction,” said mayor Henry Schwaller who was at the meeting as a member of the public. “If we do intend to allow 13th Street to continue as an orderly development and allow for the construction of new homes, this would not fit with that.”

The area where the facility would have been built, 1201 General Custer Road is immediately east of Fastenal and just south of a residential area.  It is currently zoned as an I-2 Heavy Industrial District, according to Jesse Rohr, Superintendent of Planning, Inspection and Enforcement.  Some board members noted that zoning in some areas of Hays, including the area sought by Von and Keil Fahrenbruch, need to be updated within the new comprehensive plan.

“The city commission should look at areas that have not been developed yet to make sure that it is in conformance with the new comprehensive plan,” said board chairman Lou Caplan.

In his motion to deny the request, board member Gerald Befort noted the facility did not fit the standards of the area in the newest comprehensive plan which went into effect in 2012.

F & F Iron and Metal Company has facilities in Norton and Garden City.