Why do people do this?

Last night, the Alexandria City Council narrowly approved a permit allowing the Virginia Paving Company to operate at night from April to October. The measure had been strongly opposed from residents of a neighboring community, but the company argued that it needed to operate at night to fulfill government paving contracts that only permit paving operations at night to minimize the impact on traffic.

So, here's the thing that annoys me about the whole situation: The asphalt plant has been operating on that site since 1960. The adjacent community, formerly a military base that was closed in 1995, was built in the late 1990's and includes more than 2,000 homes and an elementary school. Since the asphalt plant significantly predates the community, what basis do the residents have to complain about it? When they bought their homes, they should have realized that it would impact their lives, and with the increasing traffic problems in the area and the move to nighttime paving (which was already well underway when these homes were built), they should have anticipated that nighttime production of asphalt would be required.

The environmental experts who reviewed the community's complaints (including the one the community hired) all agree that the plant is fully compliant with all environmental and safety regulations. This is simply a case of people moving into a community and then trying to impose their will on pre-existing neighbors. This is simply not playing fair.

Here is an article from yesterday's Washington Post, and another from today's paper.