An early site plan for a proposed Saica Pack corrugated packaging manufacturing facility on Pushville Road near Emerson Avenue in Greenwood
Maps provided by city of Greenwood
Neighbors are concerned about a proposal that could bring a corrugated packaging manufacturing facility to Greenwood’s far south side.
Saica Pack U.S., a subsidiary of Spanish company Saica Pack, is requesting to rezone approximately 42.7 acres near the southwest corner of Pushville Road and Emerson Avenue for a corrugated packaging manufacturing facility. The land is currently zoned residential and would need to be rezoned to industrial for the project, according to city documents.
Saicia’s mission is to provide sustainable solutions for the manufacture of recycled paper and packaging, as well as waste management and recovery, according to the company’s website. The proposed Greenwood facility would be approximately 390,000 square feet, and Saica plans to invest about $100 million to construct the facility. Approximately 98 full-time employees would work there once full operations begin, with average wages of $39.86 an hour, city documents say.
Corrugated packaging, or corrugated cartons, are similar to cardboard, but corrugated cartons are made up of more layers, and are typically used for retail packaging or shipping cartons. Cardboard tends to be a single sheet, often used for cereal or board game boxes, according to Shorr Packaging Corp.
Ahead of a hearing scheduled on the rezoning on Monday, nearby residents are expressing concerns about rezoning the land and placing an industrial facility there.
Donna Zelner, a real estate agent who lives across from the proposed facility on Emerson Avenue, believes the land should stay residential. There are hundreds of homes surrounding the property, including the under-construction Elmwood Estates subdivision, she said.
“I’m selling some homes in there, but I don’t think I’ve got clients that are going to want to build there with this big … manufacturing building across the road from it,” she said.
Part of the reason why Zelner believes this is because of the building’s height, she said. A majority of the building is planned to be 38 feet tall, but a smaller section of the building’s south side will be 76 feet tall, according to early plans.
“You’re going to see that,” Zelner said. “They can’t put enough trees and bushes and stuff to cover that.”
Zellner was one of several residents to attend a community meeting with the law firm representing the developer last week. During the meeting, the developer said the facility would only be used for making and assembling the corrugated boxes. It is not planned to be used as a paper mill, she said.
Lenard Sexton, who lives in the Meadows of Bainbridge subdivision northwest of the property, also questions whether people would want to live next to the facility. He believes it would change the character of the area.
“I just don’t think that’s a good fit for the community,” Sexton said. “I don’t think that’s a good fit that close to three neighborhoods.”
The property is surrounded by residential zoning on two sides. Immediately west is the Louisville and Indiana railroad tracks and beyond that is industrial large zoning, city documents say.
On the south side, the land is zoned for a planned unit development for single-family homes. This development is within Whiteland town limits.
Both Zelner and Sexton are also concerned about how long the company will stay in Greenwood.
“What happens if something goes wrong with their business or whatever and they go under, or they just want to relocate?” Zelner said. “Then that area is zoned for industrial and it already has a building there. They could put in any kind of industrial building there with all kinds of … things that we just don’t want.”
Other concerns they have include light pollution and traffic, specifically how additional truck traffic will affect Pushville Road and Emerson Avenue. Traffic is already bad in the area, and more big trucks and semis will make it worse, Zelner said.
“Our roads are not ready for that, they’re not made for that,” she said.
A railroad spur is also planned for the facility. Both Zelner and Sexton are concerned the train traffic will block nearby roads as they load and unload materials, they said.
“How are you gonna get emergency vehicles down through there?” Sexton said “I just don’t get it. It just doesn’t make any sense where it’s at. … There’s nothing that says they have to put it right there.”
The developer told residents the spur is needed to help with unloading the corrugated boxes and materials, Zelner said.
In a report prepared by city planning staff ahead of Monday’s hearing, they encouraged collaboration between the developer and neighbors to create a “harmonious coexistence” between the zoning types. They also recommended nine commitments for officials to enact as conditions for the rezoning.
Among the commitments, staff recommended the developer commit to placing a 40-foot buffer yard on the south property line, and to not emit any “offensive” orders. They also recommended the developer place a path along Emerson Avenue, and place a crosswalk across Emerson connecting to Elmwood Estates’ trail network, according to city documents
City staff also recommended improvements to frontage along Pushville Road and Emerson Avenue, and to prepare a traffic study for the development.
Zelner is fine with the land being developed as residential and says she knows this would add traffic as well. But the amount of traffic added will not be the same, she said.
“It’s just basically cars,” she said. “It’s not big semis, so I don’t see where having houses in there would be a detriment as much as what it is to have this manufacturing building.”
Sexton says a small strip mall, like the one with Chicago’s Pizza on Worthsville Road, would also be suitable instead of a manufacturing facility.
“That’s not as intrusive as a plant would be, a factory would be,” he said.
Nearby residents have also started a petition to get signatures from those opposed to the rezoning. More than 115 residents have signed the petition so far, and the petition will be given to the plan commission during Monday’s meeting, Zelner said.
Many people who signed will also be attending the meeting, she said.
IF YOU GO
Greenwood Advisory Plan Commission
When: 7 p.m. Monday
Where: Greenwood City Center, 300 S. Madison Avenue
More information: greenwood.in.gov/boards/
