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Residents say industrial paint emissions drift into homes; urge council to address zoning island
Summary
Residents near a small industrial pocket in Eau Claire told the council that painting operations at a collision shop are sending paint fumes into nearby homes and asked the council to consider remedies or a future hearing.
At the July 7 Eau Claire City Council public comment period, several residents described ongoing paint fumes from a nearby collision shop and urged the council to consider how an isolated industrial zoning pocket affects neighborhood health and quality of life.
Matt Sales, who lives at 1718 Royal Court, said his neighborhood sits a few dozen yards from a small industrial parcel where True Built Collision performs painting operations. He showed a map to council members and said the business’s venting sends paint “at street level” into nearby houses; he added that the neighborhood is “within a couple hundred yards of an elementary school.” Sales said the business appears to be operating within Department of Natural Resources limits but that those limits assume the business sits on the outskirts of town, not embedded in a residential block.
Cheryl Jimenez Fry, who identified herself as Sales’s wife and a neighborhood resident, asked the council to consider a future agenda item or public hearing so affected neighbors could present concerns and asked whether the city could work with the business to reduce emissions or require additional controls. She said residents reported health effects and that the business had responded to past requests by noting its long presence in the neighborhood.
Speakers asked the council to consider the historical zoning decisions that allowed the industrial parcel to remain inside a residential area and suggested council attention as the city updates zoning and the Century Code. No city staff or council representative responded with a commitment to a follow-up during the meeting, and residents did not report an immediate enforcement action.
Speakers suggested potential issues with worker protection if Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) rules were implicated, and they noted a gap between state DNR emission allowances and local land-use realities. The speakers requested the council consider a future hearing or assistance coordinating with the business and regulatory agencies.
