Guest Column: Objects to Record's editorial on Hydro

Guest Column: Objects to Record's editorial on Hydro



LYNN BOORAS
St. Augustine
Publication Date: 12/21/08


My husband and I purchased a home on Merida Road in St. Augustine Shores this past spring, and we are very happy there.

I just have to respond to Friday's editorial, "Hydro, neighbors must work together," concerning the rezoning of Hydro Aluminum and its impact on parts of the Shores. I attended the St. Johns County Commission meeting Tuesday concerning this issue.

What I mostly came away with was a sense of relief at having personally dodged this problem. Apparently our house is far enough away from the plant that we are not aware of the noise on a regular basis. Now we will be listening for it. Who knows how that might change in the future.

I thought that traffic noise from U.S. 1 would be our biggest problem.

It made me want to scream when I read in the paper that it's the homeowner's problem that they bought a house without scrutinizing the neighborhood well enough. Give me a break. That (Hydro) sign on U.S. 1 is so small that we lived here for months before we noticed it. No Realtor in their right mind would make a point of it in this economy.

Most people think that the entire purpose of zoning is to avoid just the problem that we are experiencing. Why should we have to assume that the county doesn't care about that, and be on the alert ourselves? I've lived in a lot of places and have never seen such a close proximity of industrial and residential zoning. I'm sorry, but the word "stupid" comes to mind.

I don't blame Hydro Aluminum. If I were them, I'd want to be as unobtrusive as possible, too. They were here before these new residences. The louder people complain the more important it is for them to get their right to be there and expand down on paper. The situation will only get more tense for them when this residentially zoned area is completely built out.

I find it amazing that the fact that the local government zoned the areas so close to this factory as residential is often glossed over. In your editorial, the fact that the government needs the taxes that Hydro Aluminum pays seems like your biggest concern. It sounds to me like you're saying that zoning should be based primarily on monetary issues, and if a few homeowners have to get hosed in the process that's just too bad.

I hope that's not true, and that we have all learned something from this.

Thanks for allowing me to vent.

I really enjoy and appreciate your newspaper.

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Lynn Booras and her husband moved to St. Lucie County in Florida from Iowa in 2003 when their children were finished with school. They decided to leave South Florida because it became more crowded than they liked. They have lived in St. Augustine for one year. "The St. Augustine area has more of a small-town feeling. We love the beaches and natural