Chris Maughon
The City Council on Tuesday night declined to rezone property at Randolph Circle off South Access Road over odor concerns from a burning process.
Chris Maughon said he had planned to move Felton's Clutch and Brake from Washington Street on the Southside to the location near Harrison Pike.
Several council members said they had heard concerns about smells from a process of burning off excess grease.
Mr. Maughon said that only happened for a few hours a couple of days a week. He said he could look into adding an afterburner that might lessen or control the smell, but he did not commit to do so.
He said his 53-year-old firm was "smack out of room" at the current site.
He said he wanted to expand and get into an additional sale of truck parts, but he planned to use only about two acres of the eight-acre site.
A nearby resident said he had invested several million dollars into townhouses and was concerned about the manufacturing operation.
Mr. Maughon said there were a number of similar businesses nearby and several were his customers.
Mr. Maughon represented himself at the hearing, and Councilman Yusuf Hakeem said he came across as "kind of rough."
The vote was unanimous to reject the rezoning request.