From Staff Reports

CANTON — Canton leaders voted to enact a 365-day moratorium on development approvals for two industrial zones within the town limits on July 13, according to a report by Asheville television station WLOS (News 13).

The move follows a March 6 announcement that Pactiv Evergreen planned to close the Canton paper mill. 

The plant, which had been in operation for more than 100 years, employed about 1,100 people and was one of the largest employers in Haywood County.

In the aftermath of the shutdown, Gov. Roy Cooper has said he wants Pactiv Evergreen to return $12 million in state money that was given with the agreement the company would stay open through next year. The plant’s looming closure means there will be millions less coming into the town budget.

“Canton Mayor Zeb Smathers said the moratorium can be lifted at any time and won’t prevent businesses from opening, but it will prevent any development at the Pactiv Evergreen site — unless the town is on board,” News 13 reported

Smathers told News 13, “Any project going forth by Evergreen cannot happen without us sitting at the table. It is their absolute right to sell to whoever they want to, but this is something in the toolbox that allows us to be part of the conversation to say, ‘No, this is what we expect, these are the rules and regulations, etc.”

The TV station noted that “Canton has two major industrial zones — the site of the former paper mill and Beaverdam Industrial Park. This moratorium covers both.”