By Janet Perez
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A number of Florence residents are showing opposition to a town proposal that would allow construction of a new water use facility in the town’s historic residential district.

The proposed facility would be on two pieces of adjacent land between Ruggles and Sixth streets. The Town of Florence Utilities Building, also known as the Waterbarn or Eco Station, will include office space, a storage facility and a recycle yard. Residents near the proposed facility are not pleased. The cost for the Waterbarn is $1.5 million,

“I’m here to oppose the proposed Eco Station, which I would be looking at out my front door,” Anna James told town council during its June 6 meeting. “My property is adjacent to this proposed Eco Station, and I just think it's a very poor use of the land. Florence old town is a relatively small area and because it was designated sometime in the mid- to late-‘70s as a designated historic town site I think putting a dump in the middle of it is a really bad idea.”

While opposition from the public is only now being heard, plans for the facility actually started in 2019, when the town purchased the land.

However, it wasn’t until this summer that members of the public first took notice of the plan. The design review application by the town for the new facility was presented to the commission during its June 2 meeting.

At that meeting, Town Planner Maricella Benitez gave commission members a short presentation on the proposed facility. In the minutes of the meeting, Benitez said the town “mostly met town of Florence zoning requirements, but Arizona state requirements allow municipalities to not have to follow their zoning requirements."

Despite that, town staff thought the design review for the project should still go before the commission for review and comments.

The plan faced some resistance from commission members, notably Cathy Adam, who has helped in various preservation efforts in Florence. She stated that the project is along the part of Ruggles Street that leads into the historic district, sits near the Mt. Athos restaurant and is directly across the street from family homes. She added that there are six historic buildings on Ruggles.

“What we didn't really focus on is that there is an existing, very large public works building [in the area], so this will now be a row of three very large metal buildings,” Adam said. “I am not against this. I remember when the town purchased the land, and it was stated specifically that this is what it was for. I'm disappointed that there wasn't a greater effort made to make this look neighborhood friendly and professional.

“Most public works utility buildings are on the outskirts of town. This is right in the heart of a neighborhood -- a lived-in neighborhood -- so my hope would have been that something would have been done to cosmetically make these buildings a little more appealing.”

Ron Grittman, senior civil engineer for Public Works, told the commission that there was only so much the town could do to make the building more attractive, adding that a wall would be installed around the recycling site to keep it from public view.

“In terms of the beautification of the building itself, this is a long-term capital project that has been in the town's budget for many years now,” Grittman said. “We are limited by budget constraints. I certainly will take back to the architect the desire to beautify it, but I understand there's only so much lace you can put onto a beautiful metal building, and you still have a metal building.”

Other commissioners voiced their concerns about the recycling center becoming a dumping area for all manner of trash.

Grittman said the recycling yard would only be open during work hours and that the gates would be remotely controlled to lock during the evening.

“We recognize that introducing recycling in an uncontrolled fashion can result in some very unsightly activities going on in there,” he said. “So that's the intention of the gates. We're going to control access to that thing pretty much at all times.”

But residents held firm that they didn’t want the facility in their neighborhood.

“I live diagonal from where the public works facility currently is and the view from my front door is also the lot that is up for discussion,” Nicole Buccellato, who is running for a seat on the town council this election cycle, told the commissioners.

Buccellato added that while she knew the proposed facility was a done deal because the town owns the land, she asked the commission to consider the increase in traffic the project will generate, as well as trash that could blow out to the surrounding area.

“We own the whole block that we live on, and we have fencing in the front and around our whole acre in the back and the amount of trash that we have to go out and already pick up from the public works [facility] is unreal,” Buccellato said. “With all those receptacles you don't know what people throw in there and then come rodents. I am one of the seven people that have renovated [homes in the area] recently. We've spent over $120,000 renovating that house in one year. Had I known that these changes were going to happen I probably wouldn't have purchased [a home there].”

The commission voted unanimously to approve the design review with conditions. It will now go before the town council. Grittman said he expects the project to be completed at the end of the 2022-23 fiscal year at the latest.

At the June 20 town council meeting, residents once again voiced their concerns about the facility being in an area zoned for residential homes.

“Staff's presentation to the planning and zoning commission on June 2, 2022, appears to be the first time the residents learned this project would be constructed in the midst of their single-family residences.” Bonnie Barriola told the council. “They were even showing  them the final architectural construction documents and telling them the town did not have to follow their own zoning codes. Unless council and staff really want to create more drama and additional public backlash, you all will immediately stop the current process and conduct a feasibility study to determine the best location for such an industrial facility.”

Florence Mayor Tara Walter said the Eco Station is the culmination of the town’s continued efforts to stop illegal dumping.

“Several years ago, we noticed illegal dumping was occurring in the surrounding desert and back alleys throughout the town,” Walter said after the June 20 meeting. “In an attempt to remedy this issue, the town placed receptacles at Heritage Park, however, we then received complaints regarding overflowing garbage and recycling containers at the Heritage Park site. After evaluating the issue with town council, members of the public, and town staff, the Eco-Station option was brought forward as a potential long-term solution to both problems.”

Because of the backlash Walter said the town council will be holding a public work session on the proposed Eco-Station “to ensure our residents' concerns are heard and fully addressed.” 

The work session will be held 6-8 p.m. Monday, July 11, in the town hall where the council holds its regular meetings.