Lorain Council votes to rezone for limestone operation 

LORAIN — Once thought to be dead, the proposal to build a limestone crushing plant in Lorain is a step closer to being built.

Two months after rejecting and then rescinding the proposal to rezone 15 acres of land where the plant was to go, the Lorain City Council on Monday voted 7 to 3 in favor of rezoning the land at Riverbend Commerce Park from industrial to heavy industrial.

Voting against the proposal were Councilwomen Melanie Szabo, I-1^st Ward, and Anne Molnar, D-At large, and Councilman Greg Holcomb, D-6^th Ward.

But to get the plant going, Carmeuse, the company formerly known as Oglebay Norton that wants to build the plant, must now obtain the Council’s approval of a conditional use permit and development agreement. Those could come before the Council in the next two weeks.

Scott Dwyer, director of operations for Carmeuse, said the rezoning approval was a step in the right direction.

“This is a big step,” he said following the meeting. “We’re very pleased with council’s decision. We want to create a relationship of trust.”

If approved, Dwyer said, Carmeuse would get going as soon as possible — creating up to 20 jobs.

Some Council members had voted against the same rezoning proposal on Jan. 7 because they didn’t believe residents around Riverbend Commerce Park wanted the plant nearby because of the possible accumulation of dust and air pollution that might result. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has said multiple precautions are put in place so that dust and air pollution won’t be a problem.

But Lorain resident Kara Afrates said she and other east side residents are getting the sour end of the deal.

“Every property owner on the east side just got screwed,” she said. “You can’t put heavy industrial next to residential area — that’s common sense.”

Szabo, who represents the area where the plant would go, said should the conditional use permit be approved, she would do everything she could to ensure the plant and property owners are good neighbors. Szabo — who was pretty vocal in her opposition to the plant before — said Monday that she’s now undecided on how she will vote.

Carmeuse picked Lorain for the plant after a two-year study on locations. Other possible sites included Cleveland, Sandusky, Toledo and Huron.

Mayor Tony Krasienko blamed the previous administration for mishandling of the project’s introduction to the community, and said he thought residents could take comfort in the way the city is now handling its business.

“We’ve gotten burned a couple times in the past,” he said. “But I think the original concerns with the dust and crushed limestone have been fairly well answered.”

Contact Stephen Szucs at 329-7129 or sszucs@chroniclet.com.

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