Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

During the LaGrange City Council Meeting held on July 13, the city held a public hearing for a rezoning request that would allow for an unknown light industrial facility.

Concerns were raised about the potential development 1374 South Davis Rd., which would require a rezoning from Corridor Mixed Use (CR-MX) to Campus General Industrial (CP-GI).

The planning commission unanimously recommended the change on June 12.

Several questions and comments were made by residents living near the proposed industrial site, including what are the plans for the property.

City Planner Mark Kostial said the exact plans for the proposed facility have not been made public and he isn’t even certain of the company.

“It’s been represented in the rezoning applications and on the civil plans as ‘Project Go Fast.’ But the name of the developer at this point I’m not aware of,” Kostial said.

Kostial said the current plans call for the development of an approximately 250,000-square-foot building, initially noting it isn’t a factory but saying there would potentially be some light manufacturing on the site.

LaGrange resident Bobbie Harrington, who lives on Clearview Drive, said she has lived near the property in question for 20 years.

“That little bit of greenspace is really our only barrier between all of the busyness that kind of happens in our community,” Harrington said, noting busy traffic on South Davis Rd. and Big Springs Rd.

Kostial said that if this property is rezoned, a 50-foot buffer would be required at a minimum where it is contiguous with Clearview Drive. If the current wooded buffer is disturbed it would need to be replanted.

“I guess our biggest concern is that the green space right now is our barrier. I mean, we understand that that property doesn’t belong to us, but it’s our barrier,” Harrington said. ”Fifty feet doesn’t seem like a whole lot to keep green space between us and the development.”

When asked about the potential noise coming from the site, Kostial apologized and said that is something he cannot say for sure, noting it’s a question for the developer.

Ryan Levesque stated he just bought a home near the property on Clearview Drive and asked if a sound barrier wall could be built to protect their community.

Kostial noted that the planning commission did not recommend a sound barrier wall as requirement for the rezoning, but it could be added as a condition by the council.

Kostial said he would be happy to share the proposed plat for the development with anyone with concerns, whether at city hall or via email.