Call to action canceled. Looks like AZ Biodiesel will be moving to a new city. Update forthcoming.
Check out the popular posts to the right. –>
The City of Chandler Arizona has ordered AZ Biodiesel to cease operations because of zoning compliance issues and refuses to let them operate while these issues are worked out. AZ Biodiesel is a small company making WVO Biodiesel and can’t afford to be shut down while waiting for Chandler to complete this 3 to 6 month process. AZ Biodiesel has the full support of the city’s fire marshal and has been safely producing biodiesel for their own vehicles for three years at their current location. They are located in a light industrial zone which has been approved for biodiesel production in the City of Phoenix. AZ Biodiesel is the only source of biodiesel made from waste oil in the Phoenix area and it would be a huge shame for the city to loose this valuable resource. Please encourage the City of Chandler to let AZ Biodiesel operate while this process is completed by emailing, calling, or faxing them at the address and phone numbers below.
**Update please read before contacting the City of Chandler. Please check the comments below for the response you’ll get back from Chandler and also AZ Biodiesel’s response to that. There are definitely two sides to every story and maybe both parties have some blame to accept for this mess. As far as I can tell AZ Biodiesel wasn’t trying to get around any planning and zoning laws, they were under the impression they had followed all the rules and had done everything the City had asked. That was until they were shut down without warning. It seems there was some sort of communication disconnect between the City and AZ Biodiesel and instead of working with AZ Biodiesel to fix any issues they shut them down and told them they’d have to wait. Hopefully our letters can help move this process along and get these issues resolved without having to make AZ Biodiesel move or go out of business.
James Towner | Posted in 
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April 15th, 2008 at 7:40 pm
[...] was orginally posted by me on AzSustainably.com. The City of Chandler Arizona has ordered AZ Biodiesel to cease operations because of zoning [...]
April 16th, 2008 at 9:30 am
It is so discouraging to hear that something with so much potential to help our local community could be stopped before it really even gets going. I hope that people will take the time to contact the City of Chandler and that the officials there will reconsider. It just doesn’t make sense.
April 16th, 2008 at 10:23 am
Here’s Doug Ballard’s response:
“From:
Date: Wed, Apr 16, 2008 at 11:13 AM
Subject: Re: AZ Biodiesel - Please reconsider
To: xxxxxx
Cc: Mayor&Council@chandleraz.gov, Richard.Mulligan@chandleraz.gov
Dear xxxxxx,
The situation relative to Az Biodiesel is that they’re located in a light industrial zone, immediately adjacent to single family residential. The use may very well be allowed, but it needs to go through a Use Permit process.
Unfortunately, the business was established without zoning approval. They were advised by the City’s Fire Marshall back in December that they were operating w/o permits, had hazardous material storage and containment issues, had done electrical work and construction w/o permits. Also, unfortunately, the business failed to follow up with any of the recommendations/requirement they were advised of back in December. Subsequently, because of lack of action, the Fire Marshall issued a cease and desist order, and the zoning administrator issued a violation notice.
In terms of bio-diesel in general, we are certainly supportive of the efforts, and we’re sure that there are appropriate locations in Chandler for these type of uses. This does not mean, however, that code and safety requirements can be ignored. Compatibility with surrounding land uses, especially adjacent single family residential are some of the factors we look at when reviewing a Use Permit application.
Should you have specific questions about site and zoning requirements, we’d be happy to discuss these with you in greater detail. Please contact Jeff Kurtz, Assistant Planning and Development Director at 480-782-3054.”
April 16th, 2008 at 10:41 am
I wish Doug would have responded to my email over a week ago, so it’s good to see he is responding now. I believe that as far as AZ Biodiesel knew they were up to code and had everything they needed. They had support from the fire department, but the fire marshal had to order the cease because Planning had the final say.
April 16th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
From Dan Rees at AZ Biodiesel:
“We had a meeting with the fire Marshall in December and he gave us a list of thing we needed to do while building our facility to make sure we would be compliant. They also said we would need to go to planning and zoning to tell them we were going to increase the size of our operation.
We did all of the items given by the fire Marshall within the first few months and they never returned to inspect.
We merged with another company right before the first of the year which enabled us to add even more equipment and still were not in a position to be producing biodiesel yet as we are still waiting for additional substantial equpiment.
We were under the assumption that the fire Marshall meant we needed to tell planning and zoning once we were fire compliant as we didn’t think planning would make a decision with us having final fire approval.
It never occurred to us that planning would have any issues as we know what other businesses they allow near us (such as photomasking, which also was the prior tenant in our building).
We are allowed the Group 2 Hazmat permit in our other business and did not need to change that, nor increase any amount of hazardous chemical already allowed.
We only wanted to increase the amount of cooking oil!
A 3B non-flamable chemical according to the fire Marshall which doesn’t require any permits as long as we stay within the fire code allowable limits.
The first notice we received since November was a hazmat fire inspector (though we have had other fire inspections with no issues, the fire guys come by frequently wanting to know when they can get some biodiesel) who deliver us a letter of noncompliance and refused to
Inspect when he was told we had already done everything they requested.”
April 18th, 2008 at 8:45 am
Phoenix Business Journal published a indepth story about AZ Biodiesel recently.
http://phoenix.bizjournals.com/
April 18th, 2008 at 9:23 am
Looks like Gilbert would happily allow AZ Biodiesel to operate in their City. Gilbert and Chandler are almost identical cities.
> From: “Kelly Patton”
> Date: April 17, 2008 12:24:45 PM PDT
> To:
> Cc:
> Subject: RE: info from Phoenix on biodiesel zoning decision
>
> Errol,
>
> Thank you for the information and further clarification of your organization and its needs. I have confirmed with our zoning administrator that based on the criteria discussed and what was outlined in the letter you sent over that you would be able to go into a light industrial or general industrial zoning within the Gilbert community without the need for an additional use permit.
>
> Based on this information I took the liberty of identifying a few potential sites that would fit your requirements for approx. 5,000 sq. ft. of warehouse space. Please see attached document. We would also be willing to work with your organization to explore potential cost-saving measures such as an expedited tenant improvement process in order to get you up-and-running as quickly as possible.
>
> Errol, please let me know if I can provide any additional information. I will be out of the office all day Friday, returning Monday. However, if you have an immediate need, please don’t hesitate to contact me at my office, 480.503.6873 or cell XXX.XXX.XXXX.
>
> Regards,
> Kelly
>
> Kelly A. Patton | Business Development Specialist
> Town of Gilbert | P 480.503.6873
>
> http://www.gilbertaz.gov | Gilbert, Arizona - Realizing Opportunity
April 22nd, 2008 at 9:30 am
Temple Stark @ PolState.com just posted a article about this today. Check it out at: http://polstate.com/?p=5385
May 7th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
I hope you guys can resolve this issue as soon as posible. do any of you know anything about a local biodiesel company called NWR Biodiesel. I have been in contact with a fellow named Martin Gero. Im intrested in purchasing a procesor he advertised on Ebay. Can anyone say anything about NWR biodiesel
(No War Requierd Biodiesel)
thanks.
May 8th, 2008 at 6:59 pm
I hope they can get up and going as soon as possible also. Last I heard they are moving to Phoenix, but haven’t heard any news in a week or so. I really can’t wait to start using their fuel.
May 13th, 2008 at 5:19 am
Darien,
I know Martin Gero and know him to be a smart, creative, and dedicated individual. I cannot speak to whether or not you should buy a processor from him but i can say, that if you do, I am sure you will not have to worry about him standing behind his product.
Good Luck.