AUGUSTA -- The City Council, in response to residents' complaints about odors, noise and traffic from a paving plant in a pit off West River Road, is considering an ordinance change that would shut the plant down.

An owner of the plant, meanwhile, said neither neighbors nor the city ever brought any complaints to the attention of the company.

While he wants to be a good neighbor he said, he also plans to continue operating the plant when paving season starts again in the spring.

The RC & Sons Paving plant opened this summer, on land in a quarry and pit leased from Steven McGee Construction. The plant, which overlooks the Kennebec River and can be seen from the other side of the river, supplies paving jobs throughout central Maine.

Neighbors in the nearby Grandview neighborhood have complained the plant has made it hard for them to enjoy their homes.

"The entire Grandview area has been inundated with profuse smell, noise, excessive truck traffic, dust and a host of other issues because of this plant," said Bob Gorneau, whose Kenneth Street home is one of the closest to the plant. "Not to mention the devastation of land and resources that is happening next to the river. We can't even sit outside in nice weather when that plant is making asphalt due to a permeating odor of diesel fuel and petroleum."

Matt Nazar, deputy director of development services for the city, said the city has received a number of complaints from neighbors. He said the strong odor seems incompatible with a residential neighborhood.

In response, City Councilor Cecil Munson sponsored an ordinance change that would have the effect of preventing the plant from operating at the site.

Nazar said the infrastructure of the plant is portable, so what he describes as a temporary plant being forced to shut down would not be the same as shutting down an established, permanent business location.

Mike Cloutier, vice president of operations for Lewiston-based RC & Sons Paving, a family-owned business started by his grandfather, father and uncle in 1976, said he heard about the city's proposed ordinance change only a couple of days ago, from a McGee Construction worker.

"Nobody had contacted us from the city, or anywhere, that there were any issues with odors or trucks or dust," Cloutier said. "We are a company that is responsible. We believe in being a good neighbor. Our approach in business is we deal with our issues; we don't run away from them. We like to sit down and talk about it, and let's work to a common ground, work our issues out. Let's talk and come up with a game plan on how to we're going to deal with the issue, if there really is an issue.

"To my father, to us personally, cleanliness and a good-looking operation means a lot to us."

He said emissions from the plant are monitored by the state Department of Environmental Protection, plant operators are trained to "read" the exhaust coming from the plant, and the company stays within its DEP license limits.

Cloutier said 21 people are employed either at the plant, driving trucks hauling from there, or working on paving crews supplied by it.

The plant will likely shut down this weekend because of the close of the paving season, anyway; but Cloutier said the company will work to try to make sure it can open back up in the spring.

Gorneau said the city erred in allowing the plant to open in the first place.

Nazar said the city didn't foresee the use of pits as paving plants when the Mineral Extraction Ordinance was written in 2007.

Councilor Edward Coffin suggested the ordinance change should be reviewed by the committee which worked on the Mineral Extraction Ordinance, because that committee included representatives of both neighborhoods and pit operators.

City councilors voted Thursday to table the issue until January, in part, Mayor Roger Katz said, in light of the concerns expressed by the business.

Keith Edwards -- 621-5647

kedwards@centralmaine.com