Hydro OK'd for expansion

Hydro OK'd for expansion

Neighborhood against rezoning for aluminum processing plant

By MARCIA LANE
marcia.lane@staugustine.com
Publication Date: 12/17/08


A "No to Hydro" sign abandoned in an audience chair was all that remained of the protest over Hydro-Aluminum's request for a planned unit development designation after Tuesday's St. Johns County Commission meeting.

Protestors, including residents from the Shores, Tuscany and Winding Creek, lost as commissioners voted 4-0 for the rezoning of the 104 acres.

Chances are protesters won't go away, but they aren't likely to hire a lawyer and fight in the courts, said Jerry Zinn.

"All we can do is continue to try and work with Hydro. For four years we've worked with them, slowly making questionable progress," said Zinn, a Shores resident who was one of the main spokesmen for the protesters.

Residents were hoping to make their points with commissioners as they explained their concerns about the plant. Those concerns include round-the-clock noise, environmental and health issues, security, traffic and dropping property values.

Commissioners listened to their side and that of the aluminum processing plant for nearly four hours before casting their vote on rezoning the property for Open Rural (OR) and Industrial Warehouse (IW) designations to PUD.

Hydro brought in a busload of workers clad in identical powder blue shirts to show the economic impact of the plant. Local businessmen, contractors and representatives of community groups the company supports added their pleas, emphasizing the company's financial importance and civic value to the community.

"We're trying to do what's in the best interest of the overall community and county," District 3 Commissioner Mark Miner said as he made the motion to approve the PUD. Miner, who only recently took office, was facing his first tough decision as the plant and the potential voters are in his district.

District 2 Commissioner Ron Sanchez said if the commission didn't back the plant it would be seen by all businesses considering moving to the area as a negative.

He, along with some other commissioners, took swipes at past county commissions for decisions that led to some of the problems the issue brought out.

"You have to question why there wasn't a large buffer zone required for the development," Sanchez said, calling it a "bad situation for everyone."

Land planner Karen Taylor with Hydro reminded commissioners the plant zoning became nonconforming because of changes by the county to the comp plan and land use. The PUD changing the zoning of the 104 acres off Roehrs Road takes care of that issue, allows for expansion of the plant and offers a 20-year plan for the plant.

When the Planning & Zoning Agency heard the issue in November, they voted 5-2 to approve the application. Dissenting voters raised concerns about the relationship of industrial adjacent to residential and establishing an industrial corridor in an inappropriate area.

The company has seen a drop in workforce from a previous high of about 500 due to worsening economy. The 20-year expansion plan calls for adding 85,000 square feet to the existing plant and, over the years, more than 160,000 square feet of offices.

The work force could grow to 600 as the economy improves and demand for the company's aluminum product increases. That will also increase the amount of traffic and work at the plant.

Hydro officials have tried to address residents' complaints, said Hydro Vice President and General Manager Matt Dionne.

That included developing buffer zones, putting up walls to cut down on the sound, moving the scrap pile away from residences and stopping delivery of metals from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. Switching from wet paint to dry paint will produce fewer chemicals in the air, and moving some of the work indoors will cut down on noise, Dionne said.

Some things won't change, he warned. The firm must continue to operate its foundry round the clock, and the noise won't go away completely.

"The sound of crashing metal will never disappear," Dionne said, adding the company will continue to work on reducing noise decibels.

------------

Joan and Dan Mrozek loved St. Augustine, so the decision to move here from New York wasn't hard.

They bought a $400,000 home in the Tuscany subdivision last year.

Then they found out the noise from Hydro-Aluminum was so bad they couldn't open their windows.

They blame the real estate agent who sold them the house.

"No real estate agent will tell you there's a factory there," Dan Mrozek said. "They're hungry to sell these houses ... it's a very dishonest approach."

They didn't know the neighbors to ask and didn't see the plant when they were looking at the property.

"And the sign (for Hydro-Aluminum) is so small you'd never see it," observed his wife, Joan Mrozek.

Their house faces the plant.

When she opened her door one morning at 5 after hearing the noise, "Literally my lungs contracted because of the foul air," she said.

"Nobody's going to buy the house. We're going to be stuck," he said.

Joseph Racano has lived at his house for five years. He says the heavy trucks keep his sons from playing in the yard, and he's concerned about potential health hazards because of the plant. He, too, can't open his windows.

While he agrees homeowners need to do due diligence before buying, "I also believes in disclosure (by agents)," he said.

Several homeowners said the plant was "completely different" in scale and production before Hydro bought it.

Home owners at Tuesday's St. Johns County Commission meeting were upset with Hydro, but they were equally upset with real estate salespeople who didn't tell them about the plant.

They got sympathy from at least one commissioner.

District 5 Commissioner Ken Bryan, before voting for the plant rezoning, said he had gotten a pile of letters and e-mails.

Among the stories he heard were from homeowners who dealt with "unscrupulous (agents) who sell without full disclosure. ... That's the kind of thing we've got to try and address in the future."

Bryan said he expects to see more such problems in the future.



Click here to return to story:
http://staugustine.com/stories/121708/news_1217_018.shtml

© The St. Augustine Record