Published: June 25, 2009 02:12 pm      

Dan Coffey rallies support to defeat CCE move in New Albany

Matter to go before board of zoning appeals instead of plan commission

A potential move of CCE Inc. through a zoning change on Ind. 111 will not be vetted in front of the New Albany Plan Commission, City Council President Dan Coffey said Thursday.

Instead, the Board of Zoning Appeals will hear a variance request for the property, located at 1706 Ind. 111, that would allow more than 40 acres of land to be used for CCE’s tire shredding business.

The big difference is that unlike the original Planned Unit Development District request that was tabled last month by the plan commission, a variance approved by the board of zoning appeals would not have to go before the city council for votes.

Even after a PUDD is OK’d by the plan commission, it must go to the council for three votes before it’s allowed. The board of zoning appeals will hear the variance request for CCE at 7 p.m. on July 7.

“If it passes, we’re sunk,” Coffey said.

He told a crowd of approximately 30 residents that live in his district and near the Ind. 111 property about the change during a meeting held at the New Albany-Floyd County Public Library.

The residents in attendance were vocal in their opposition to CCE moving to their neighborhood. Most of the concern was over contamination claims and citations levied against CCE and its owner, Jeff Eastridge, at its current location in the former Hoosier Panel building at 2045 Silver Street.

The New Albany Redevelopment Commission is in negotiations to buy the Hoosier Panel site from CCE in order to sell the land to another developer.

Mayor Doug England said Tuesday the move would benefit all sides, as CCE needs more room to operate and the Hoosier Panel property is prime property for development.

The mayor said the city is not helping CCE financially in the move, and that “it’s not unusual” for the redevelopment commission to buy property and then resale it.

Residents are not at danger from the level of contaminants revealed in soil samples at the Hoosier Panel site, a private environmental firm declared in June.

Maurice King, who lives near CCE’s Silver Street location and has pushed the city to act on violations of zoning law by the company for storing waste outdoors, told the library crowd that Eastridge “has not been a good neighbor” and that the residents should fight the relocation.

“He’s still in violation and our city continues to allow him to do it,” King said.

City Planner Krisjans Streips filed a lawsuit against CCE for repeated zoning violations, but no action has been taken to this point.

Coffey said the city should not help move a business with multiple citations to another location. He added he’s concerned over the noise level that a large operation such as CCE’s would bring to the neighborhood.

“We can’t enforce the laws, that’s the [administration’s job],” Coffey said.

The Ind. 111 property is removed from most residents and would be an ideal location for the CCE business, England said Tuesday. He added that if Coffey or anyone could bring foolproof evidence that Eastridge is exposing the city to toxic chemicals, he would help “run them out of New Albany.”

England said any cleanup required at the Hoosier Panel site would be deducted from the price the city pays Eastridge for the property.

Residents at the meeting will be going door-to-door in their district, trying to drum up support against the variance and subsequent move by CCE.

Coffey said they need to pack the third-floor Assembly Room of the City-County Building when the board of zoning appeals votes on the variance.

Coffey feels CCE is taking the easy route to getting the zoning change by staying away from the plan commission and in effect, the city council. Streips said the developer has the choice to either request a PUDD before the plan commission or a variance before the board of zoning appeals.



SO YOU KNOW

• The Board of Zoning Appeals will hear the variance request for CCE Inc. at 7 p.m. on July 7 in the third-floor Assembly Room of the City-County Building. Residents potentially impacted by the variance can speak at the meeting, or submit written opinions to the city in room 329 of the City-County Building. Written submissions received by July 7 will be read at the meeting.