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A group of homeowners in Sundance, the small rural subdivision adjacent to the massive proposed CSX rail hub and distribution center in Winter Haven are seeking an injunction to keep the company from moving forward with its plans.
The 26-page injunction request, filed on behalf of about 20 area residents, says the CSX plan is incompatible with the character and zoning of their area and should be halted.
The group is represented by Lakeland-based lawyer A. Brent Geohagan. CSX and the city of Winter Haven, which owns the land where the hub would be located, have 20 days to respond to the suit under Florida law.
Geohagan said his clients are not seeking a temporary emergency injunction at this point, but if they see CSX make a significant move - such as closing on the deal to purchase land from the city of Winter Haven - they will.
Jacksonville-based CSX calls the project an “integrated logistics center,” a statewide rail-to-truck distribution center unlike anything in the Southeast. It would handle vehicles and shipping containers routed primarily from the nation’s West Coast ports.
At the Winter Haven hub, the containers would be transferred from trains to hundreds of waiting trucks. CSX has projected that the hub will produce up to 1,150 trips a day on State Road 60. That’s before the inclusion of the surrounding distribution center, which covers a much larger area than the train hub.
CSX and other project backers in Winter Haven say it may employ up to 2,000 people.
The hub is the backbone of a half-billion-dollar deal put together last year by then-Gov. Jeb Bush’s administration that would reorganize freight rail traffic throughout the state and bring commuter rail to the Orlando area.
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Posted by T.A. BARNETT, LAKELAND on 07/26 at 11:07 PM
I LIVE IN LAKELAND LESS THAN A HALF OF A MILE FROM A FORMER CSX RAILYARD.THIS SITE IS CLOSED AND VERY CONTAMINATED WITH HEAVY METALS AND A LONG LIST OF OTHER TOXIC CHEMICALS.THIS IS A AREA THAT IS CLOSE TO 200 ACRES.THIS IS A EXAMPLE OF WHAT IS LEFT BEHIND BY SOME LARGE CORPORATIONS.I HOPE THAT THIS TYPE OF THING DOES NOT HAPPEN IN THE YEARS TO COME FOR WINTER HAVEN.I HAVE CONTACTED THE CITY OF WINTER HAVEN VIA E-MAIL IN REGARD TO THE PROBLEM IN LAKELAND.THERE WAS NO REPLY FROM THE MAYORS OFFICE.IF FOLKS WANT TO CHECK INTO THE PAST.THE EPA FILE NUMBER IS FLD981930464.GOOD LUCK IN YOUR QUEST FOR YOUR SAY SO IN YOUR COMMUNITY.