OTTAWA — The Ottawa city commissioners voted 4-1 Wednesday night to reject a special permit for the county to open a proposed construction and demolition landfill northeast of the city. The proposal drew opposition from neighbors. John Todd, who lives next to the proposed site, said neighbors are concerned about the affect on their property values and because of the presence of two high-pressure gas pipelines through the area. County planner Larry Walrod said the county bought the site to avoid having to dig at its existing site which contains a closed landfill and would be expensive to re-open. Commissioner Blake Jorgensen said the county should look at its existing landfill site before expanding to the new site because using the new site would basically keep it from being used for anything. Commissioner Gene Ramsey was the only vote to issue the permit. He said he was reluctant but said the call on the new site belongs to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, which regulates new landfills, and not the city. Although the landfill is in the county and is owned by the county, because the site is in the urban growth zone, the city has a say in the permits. The matter now goes back to the city planning commission.
Thursday, Sept. 2, 1 p.m.
