An early site plan for a proposed Saica Pack corrugated packaging manufacturing facility on Pushville Road near Emerson Avenue in Greenwood. The proposal will not be moving forward after the developer withdrew the request.
Rendering provided by city of Greenwood
Plans for a corrugated packaging manufacturing facility in Greenwood have been pulled following public outcry.
Attorneys representing Saica Pack U.S., a subsidiary of Spanish company Saica Pack, withdrew their request to rezone approximately 42.7 acres near the southwest corner of Pushville Road and Emerson Avenue around 1:36 p.m. Monday — nearly five hours before a public hearing on the proposal was scheduled before the city’s Advisory Plan Commission. The land is currently zoned residential, and remain so for the foreseeable future.
Attorneys representing the developer told city officials public feedback was the reason, said Gabe Nelson, planning director.
The developer is still considering the next steps for the project, said Alex Intermill, an attorney for the developer.
“The decision to withdraw the petition was made based on the initial response from the community,” said Intermill, of Bose McKinney & Evans. “We are re-evaluating the site and site plan before moving forward with the rezoning process and project in Greenwood.”
City officials first learned of the developer’s plans when a site planner reached out to them about six to eight months ago, said Mayor Mark Myers.
Nearby residents had expressed concern about rezoning the land and placing an industrial facility there. A petition from nearby residents opposing the proposal gained more than 115 signatures, nearby resident Donna Zelner told the Daily Journal earlier this week.
With the proposal now withdrawn, the land will continue to be residential for now. If a developer wanted to come back and try to rezone the land again, they would have to file a brand new application and would need to once again go through the public notice process, Nelson said.
“The rezoning is withdrawn as if it was never sent out for the public,” Nelson said. “That application has gone away in our system.”
As the land is still zoned residential, residential projects could still happen on the property, Nelson said. There would likely only be a public hearing for these projects if there is a variance requested or the lot was platted or re-platted, he said.
Saica Pack’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 have been about 390,000 square feet, and Saica planned to invest about $100 million to construct the facility. Approximately 98 full-time employees would have worked there once full operations begin, with average wages of $39.86 an hour, city documents say.
Neighbors who were opposed to the project were pleased about the decision to withdraw. Zelner, a real estate agent who lives across from the proposed facility on Emerson Avenue, was concerned about the size of the facility and the possibility of an industrial facility being close to residential areas.
“I’m pleased that they listened to all of us and understood that we really do not want industrial in the middle of our residential areas,” Zelner said Tuesday. “I appreciate that they were kind enough to withdraw.”
Lenard Sexton, who lives in the Meadows of Bainbridge subdivision northwest of the property, had also questioned whether people would want to live next to the facility. He believed it would change the character of the area.
On Tuesday, Sexton said he was happy the proposal was withdrawn.
“I feel like the neighborhood and the four communities banded together to look out for one for each other,” Sexton said. “And then we didn’t have a factory in the midst of us. So we’re very happy, very pleased.”
Zelner knows the land will be developed one day, but it should never be industrial, she said.
“If it’s residential, I’m OK. If it’s farm ground, that’s perfect,” Zelner said. “But I just don’t want the industrial.”
