What Would Be Acceptable?

In a comment to this post about the proposed Hanover intermodal site, Bob Mumper, a Hanover resident who lives nearby the site, wrote, “There are plenty of permitted uses in the M2 zone which would be compatible with the surrounding neighborhood. A rail to truck intermodal transfer facility is not one of them.”

I wondered what permitted uses might be more acceptable to Bob so I checked my HoCo zoning manual. There are over 86 uses “permitted as a matter of right” in an M2 zone. They cover everything from ambulance services to wool scouring. Included are asphalt manufacturing, construction equipment assembly, chemical manufacturing (including paints, varnishes, pesticides, soaps, bleaches, detergents, inks, dyes, gum and wood chemicals, plastics and synthetic fibers), livestock slaughtering, manufacturing of metal alloys or foils, rubber processing or manufacture, auto dismantling, and welding shops.

In other words, the M2 (Manufacturing: Heavy) District is set aside for some of the vital but less than glamorous business uses.

After looking at the list, an intermodal rail facility begins to look like one of the more benign uses for the surrounding neighborhoods.