CSX and 318 Acres …

Posted by Bob Gernert on May 10, 2007 at 2:57 pm

CSX and 318 acres ….

In March of 2006, attorneys representing CSX Transportation requested a letter of clearance from the Department of Community Affairs in Tallahassee. The correspondence outlined the acreage requesting clearance and specifically addressed Development of Regional Impact (DRI) thresholds. Here are pertinent excerpts:

The project acreage was described as follows:
318 acres total
- 160 acres for the intermodal terminal
- 99 acres of vehicle storage and unloading
- 10.5 acres of administrative and control buildings
- 3.3 acres of maintenance buildings
- 45 acres of stormwater management areas
… together with construction and dedication of a public roadway connecting the Intermodal Facility to SR 60.

The total parking spaces for employees, visitors and vendors will not exceed 100. The Intermodal Facility will handle various types of consumer goods including, but not limited to, automobile/motor vehicles that are in transit through the facility. The Intermodal Facility will also marshal conveyances such as tractor trailers. The open and temporary storage of such freight and conveyances should not be considered for the purposes of calculating “parking spaces” when applying the applicable DRI thresholds to the development.

The letter went on to specifically address DRI numerical thresholds:

Based on the foregoing, the above described Intermodal Facility does not exceed the established thresholds for the applicable type of development. Section 28-24.029, Florida Administrative Code sets forth the applicable DRI thresholds for “Industrial Plants, Industrial Parks and Distribution, Warehousing or Wholesaling Facilities,” classifying such uses that provides parking for more than 2,500 motor vehicles or occupy thresholds, the Intermodal Facility will not constitute a DRI.

In a letter dated April 12, 2006, Michael McDaniel, Regional Planning Administrator for DCA, wrote in reply to the request: “The Department has determined that the CSX Intermodal Logistics Center development as proposed in your request for a clearance letter, is not required to undergo DRI review.”

(Editor’s Note added 5-11-07 at 7:31 a.m. — The roadway is not contiguous to the 318 acres and will be publicly owned and maintained. This type of transaction is often found in public/private partnerships and the bottom line is it saved Polk County taxpayers the cost of land acquisition.

In fact, it will accomplish one objective of a Polk County road improvement plan released last year. The roadway will complete the “Pollard Road extension.”)

Update May 29, 2007:  In a decision released today, the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) will evaluate both Phase I and Phase II as a single “Development of Regional Impact” (DRI. This process will provide a thorough review of the Intermodal Center with regard to such issues as transportation and environmental impacts of the center.


Platinum Bank

See other entries filed in: CSX - Winter Haven, Commercial Developments

REMARKS   12 Total remarks on this post. Add your own remarks below

  • May 11th, 2007 at 6:09 am
    Sam Masters

    The math doesn’t add up. 318 acres for all that together with the roadway, that didn’t the Ledger say was 12 acres, CSX bought, exceeds the 320 acre DRI threshold. Isn’t the roadway part of the site prep? You can’t run a railyard, without a road out, can you?

  • May 11th, 2007 at 6:30 am
    Mr. X

    Although CSX purchsed the road right-of-way, once it is built it will be dedicated to the public and will no longer be owned by CSX. Cmon, do your homework.

  • May 11th, 2007 at 7:08 am
    Bob Gernert

    The previous comment is accurate. Such transactions are often part of public/private partnerships.

    In addition, the land purchase for the road is not contiguous to the 318 acres but it does accomplish an objective of a County plan for road improvements release last year known as the “Pollard Road extension.”

  • May 11th, 2007 at 7:23 am
    Bob Gernert

    The previous comment is accurate. This type of transaction is often found in public/private partnerships and the bottom line is it saved Polk County taxpayers the cost of land acquisition. In fact, it will accomplish one objective of a Polk County road improvement plan released last year. The roadway will complete the “Pollard Road extension.”

    In addition, the roadway is not contiguous to the 318 acres.

  • May 11th, 2007 at 7:25 am
    Mike

    I think Mr. Masters makes a good point. CSX bought the property for their site, not the City. It should have been reported to DCA as a part of the site, regardless if it is to be given away at a later date. I’m sure this question will be asked of DCA and others very soon.

    Thanks Mr. Masters!

  • May 11th, 2007 at 10:27 am
    Richard Payne

    Sir:

    If the proposed roadway will now connect to Pollard Road, what will stop all these trucks from using Pollard Road, Thompson Nursery Road and Eloise Loop Road? To connect this new road to Pollard Road is a huge mistake. The city of Winter Haven is again just thinking about the money and not about the residences around the site.

  • May 11th, 2007 at 10:47 am
    Bob Gernert

    The road will have weight limits that will prohibit usage by trucks that exceed the established limits. The only portion of the road that would allow ILC trucks would be that between Highway 60 and the ILC access. Those weight limit restrictions would include Thompson Nursery Rd., Pollard etc.

    The city and CSX have made numerous overtures to working with the residents including involvement in the planning process.

    Neighborhood meetings will also be announced shortly and we will detail those meeting dates and times.

    You also have a Q & A option on our home page with a direct link to CSX representative, Dan Murphy.

  • May 11th, 2007 at 12:22 pm
    Carl Kocher

    This is an important project for Winter Haven. It will have an extremely postive economic impact on the growth and the future of Winter Haven. I fully support it.

  • May 11th, 2007 at 12:49 pm
    George Whiehead

    I disagree. Watch the current traffic up and down these roads. Trucks of all sizes and weights are barrelling down Eloise Loop, Thompson nursery, Rifle Range road, Snively ave, etc,… Once these trucks leave the railyard, they’ll go the fastest route possible to wherever they’re going. The sheriff doesn’t have enough people to sit on these secondary roads to babysit for the problems Winterhaven has brought down on us. Its very nice for Winterhaven because the trucks won’t be driving down there roads.

  • May 14th, 2007 at 10:02 am
    Pam Childers

    I am wondering who is going to do the new business of ‘rail to air to truck’ since the proposed road is not contiguous to the site and therefore not part of the initial site plan.

    I also agree with George on the impact of road traffic on Eloise Loop, Thompson Nursery, Rifle Range, etc. it is bad and they fly through the curves around Teranova.

  • May 23rd, 2007 at 2:13 pm
    Susan

    Aren’t there weight limits now for Eloise Loop & Thompkins Nursery Road because if so big dump truck convoys and semi’s must fall under said weight limits because I have the pleasure of watching and hearing them non stop from my back yard and I can barely pull into my subdivision off of Eloise Loop Road w/o getting rear ended by a dump truck on my hind end. Two people that I know of have died on Eloise Loop just since Christmas. Is someone going to do something about this use of Eloise Loop and Thompkins Nursery being a cut thru from Winter Haven to Lake Wales. I take my son to school every day to Lake Wales and these dump truck convoys are using this road as a cut thru. I see cops left and right pulling over speeding cars but they’re not doing anythign about these convoys that should be using Cypress Gardens Blvd. Am I wrong in my thinking? Surely the chamber would understand our valid concerns regarding the CSX creating a bigger problem. Honestly, do people need to die?

  • May 30th, 2007 at 8:59 pm
    Bob Dortmer

    Thank goodness that all this conflict can now be put aside since the state is requiring a DRI. Hopefully with a DRI all this can be properly planned to benefit all of the County.

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