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More On CSX’s DRI “Clearance”

Posted May 14, 2007 by Billy Townsend

Updated May 14, 2007 at 02:54 PM

For the record, Polk County Manager Mike Herr has read the letter exchange between CSX and the state Department of Community Affairs informally declaring that the 318-acre CSX hub need not undergo a regional review.

Herr also alerted me to a second clearance letter issued April 24 of this year, almost a year after the first letter. It reads very much like the first letter with all the same caveats about this being an “informal determination.” But, if anything, it is more explicit about the point I made in the previous post, that CSX isn’t committing to doing anything with the 930-acre second phase of the project.

“CSXT presently has the right to purchase an additional 930 acres, which are adjacent to the [rail] terminal facility parcel, but has no specific development plans for the additional land,” the letter reads. [Emphasis mine]

In addition, there is some language to suggest to this non-legal mind that CSX may be trying to figure out a way to simultaneously develop the rail hub while going through a DRI process on the second part.

What’s also interesting about this letter is that the state is communicating with Roger W. Sims, a lawyer with the storied Holland and Knight firm, rather than Jack Brandon of the Peterson and Myers firm. Brandon handled the previous clearance letter exchange. There may be an easy explanation for this, but I was unable to reach Brandon, who is in Italy for several days and “won’t be calling in,” according to his assistant. I wouldn’t call in either.

I’m working on a collection of all our CSX reporting, along with scans of some of the key documents. I will post that when it’s complete and add it to the special reports column.