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Residents press county on industrial park construction, stormwater, noise and notice; county says approvals followed rules
Summary
Several residents near North U.S. 301 told Sumter County commissioners Sept. 23 they received little notice of construction tied to a new industrial park, saying berms and a new road will be within feet of backyards and asking for a barrier or other mitigation.
Several residents living along North U.S. 301 told the Sumter County Board of County Commissioners on Sept. 23 they had not been adequately notified about construction activity tied to a newly approved industrial area and asked the county to require a barrier or sound wall between the road/industrial site and backyards.
Jimmy Douglas, who gave his address as 1325 North U.S. 301, said he was not notified about the project and showed photos he said were taken by the regional water management district that he said illustrate how close a new road berm will be to his backyard: “From the bottom of that berm to my property line is 22 feet. That's how close that road is to my property.” John Campbell, a neighbor who said he’s lived at 1295 North U.S. 301 for about 25 years, described berm heights of “above the height of my chain link fence” and sections “over 10 feet high,” and said the berm limits sight lines and raised flood and noise concerns for residents.
Other speakers — Barbara Realy, Peter Marra and Laurie Taylor — echoed worries about noise, potential truck routes to the industrial park, flooding, odors from nearby landfill operations and fairness in placing certain uses near residential areas. Leslie Strickland, who said she reviewed the advertising for a proposed Class 1 injection well, asked commissioners to seek more investigation before the state permit process proceeds; Deborah Arcus raised questions about the siting and pipeline path for a rapid infiltration basin (RIB) that would carry treated reuse water to an irrigation/tertiary storage site.
County Chairman and County Administrator Bradley Arnold responded to the group: the board does not have legal authority over expansion of the Heart of Florida landfill (located inside the City of Bushnell) or over Class 1 injection well permits, both of which are regulated by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Arnold said the county is monitoring landfill operations and that its third-party engineer review during the landfill’s recent operating-permit renewal found the landfill compliant with operating conditions. He also explained the rapid infiltration basin is intended as tertiary storage used only under high-capacity conditions (for example when weather prevents land application) and that reuse-water pipelines must gain property-owner permission or utility permits to occupy rights of way.
Arnold and staff told residents that site stormwater must comply with the Southwest Florida Water Management District permits and the county’s site-development review; he added the county cannot demand private developers build sound walls, but staff facilitated contact between the affected property owners and representatives of the villages’ development to discuss possible mitigation. Ms. Snyder (county staff) described an existing bridge on County Road 470 with a weight restriction and ongoing grant-seeking to replace it; weight limits and signage are currently used as enforcement tools.
Residents requested clearer notice when projects move from residential to industrial uses and asked the board to press for additional mitigation measures. County staff noted the statutory legal-notice process and the county’s courtesy 500-foot mailing practice, and said legal challenges to previously approved entitlements are time-limited and have lapsed for these developments.
