IMTT to go ahead with development in Luling despite protests from residents

More than 250 people attended last week’s town meeting to discuss IMTT’s request to rezone about 250 acres of its Luling property from commercial and residential districts to a light manufacturing zone, according to Councilwoman-at-large Holly Fonseca. The rezoning request also includes a 500-foot open land protection district behind residences on Evelyn Drive, where no future development would occur.

Many Luling residents said they are concerned about the health risks, traffic, drainage problems and fires posed by IMTT being installed near their homes. Residents have held a neighborhood town hall, posted signs in their yards that say “say no to IMTT,” filed Freedom of Information Act requests about IMTT’s rezoning and signed a petition, according to several residents. They hope their fight against IMTT’s rezoning request will stop, or at least limit, IMTT’s development in the area. But Matthew Rosenboom, IMTT’s chief financial officer, said IMTT plans to move forward with industrial development on the land already zoned for heavy industry.

“Our expectation is that this rezoning will not have an impact on whether or not we develop the M2 (heavy industry) zoning,” Rosenboom said. “We will plan to develop it regardless of whether or not this rezoning is approved.”

The St. Charles Parish Council will vote on IMTT’s rezoning request at its Sept. 9 meeting at 6 p.m. in Hahnville.

International-Matex Tank Terminals purchased nearly 600 acres between Evelyn Drive and Davis Pond in 2023. The land is across the river from IMTT’s St. Rose Tank Terminal, which began operations in 1961. IMTT handles and stores bulk liquid products such as petroleum, biofuels and vegetable oils, according to the company’s website.

Approximately 300 acres of the land IMTT purchased in Luling has been zoned for heavy industrial use since 1981. This heavy industrial district is within 2,000 feet of residences.

Rosenboom said that if he were a Davis Heights resident, he would view this rezoning as a positive because it would change the multi-family residential district behind Evelyn Drive to an open land buffer zone.

“That ensures that there will be a 500-foot buffer that will never be developed compared to the potential today of having apartment complexes or townhomes or something like that right behind the houses,” Rosenboom said.

If the rezoning is not approved, Rosenboom said IMTT would potentially consider developing the residential zoning itself or partner with another company to develop it.

Davis Heights neighborhood resident Dani Huffman said IMTT’s suggestion to develop the multi-family residential area seemed like a threat.

“They say if we don’t give them what they want, they’ll keep developing it,” Huffman said. “But I’d rather have people living behind me than a chemical plant.”

Rosenboom said, however, that the rezoning request is not a choice between people or industry.

“I think it’s the potential to have both,” he said. “The M-2 (heavy industrial zone) isn’t changing, so if this rezoning doesn’t happen, there could still be industrial development there along with people.”

Rosenboom said IMTT requested the rezoning to align the property with the company’s industrial services. IMTT does not yet have a development plan for the property, but wants the industrial zoning change before marketing the land to potential customers. Luling residents said they are frustrated by the idea of ​​the parish council voting on the rezoning request without knowing what IMTT plans to build.

Davis Heights resident Jena Zeringue said last week’s public meeting left her angry and frustrated.

“I would like to know how the council can vote on this when IMTT clearly explained (at the town hall) that they don’t know what they are going to do with this property,” Zeringue said. “They can’t tell us what is going to be stored. They can’t tell us what is going to be put there. How can you vote to rezone an area when we don’t even have a clear explanation? How can this be legal?”

Huffman said the city council did not address her concerns.

“IMTT said they don’t have any plans for the property yet,” Huffman said. “So I don’t feel any better because at that point they can do whatever they want with the land, once it’s rezoned.”

A light manufacturing district would allow IMTT to build large warehouses within 500 feet of residents’ homes. These warehouses would not be able to store hazardous materials unless the planning and zoning commission and parish council approved a special permit. Rosenboom also said any development in the light manufacturing district would not store hazardous materials.

A light manufacturing district can also include office space, parking lots or assembly plants. These districts must be free from “obnoxious odors, fumes, dirt, vibrations or noise,” according to the parish’s zoning ordinance.

If the parish council approves the rezoning request, IMTT is free to develop the land as it wishes, as long as any development follows the parish’s zoning ordinance. Any industrial development would also require coordination with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, the Louisiana Department of Energy and Natural Resources, the Levee District, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and others, according to Rosenboom.

“Most, if not all, agencies have public notice and public hearing requirements, which would allow residents to have additional input on the development,” Rosenboom said in an email.

‘They’re not good neighbors’: Some St. Rose residents support protests in Luling

Federal regulators fined IMTT more than $39,000 following a 2023 explosion and fire at its St. Rose terminal. Under a settlement with the Environmental Protection Agency, IMTT also had to spend more than $150,000 on upgrades to reduce hazardous emissions and odors. St. Rose residents have complained to state regulators about odors coming from the terminal, according to The Advocate. IMTT’s St. Rose facility maintains 216 tanks that store ethanol, petroleum products, and base and specialty chemicals, according to the company’s website.

At least two St. Rose residents attended the meeting to voice their support for Luling residents who oppose IMTT’s expansion. Some St. Rose residents are waging their own fight against IMTT, which is partnering with St. Charles Clean Fuels on the proposal to build a $4.6 billion “blue” ammonia plant in St. Rose.

Zeringue said St. Rose residents told her to keep fighting.

“We were told that IMTT is not a good neighbor,” she said. “(St. Rose residents) have had to evacuate because of the smell, they have had headaches and conditions like asthma have gotten worse.”

‘Like enemy territory’: residents leave City Hall frustrated and angry

For Huffman, walking into last week’s town meeting was like entering enemy territory. She said she was frustrated that council members did not answer residents’ questions and instead redirected all questions and concerns to IMTT representatives.

“I felt like the council had already made up their mind,” Huffman said. “When I walked into the meeting, I didn’t feel like our council was there to support us. They’re supposed to represent us, and I felt like we were being scolded for having feelings or asking questions.”

Fonseca said council members typically do not speak publicly about an item that is on the agenda before a vote. Residents can address the council at the public hearing during the Sept. 9 council meeting, he said. Residents do not have to register to speak at the public hearing.

“Last night and on social media, people feel like we’ve already made our decision, and that’s simply not the case,” Fonseca said.

Fonseca said the council’s job is to gather information from both IMTT and residents and not be influenced by either side.

“There is no one who is going to influence my vote,” she said. “Whether it’s attacking us on Facebook before we’ve voted or trying to intimidate us into coming out and saying how we’re going to vote. That’s just not going to happen.”

Councilman Willie Comardelle said he has shared his thoughts on the rezoning request with some residents. He has also posted his support for the rezoning on Facebook, according to several Davis Heights residents. But Comardelle said he will not vote on IMTT’s rezoning request because he will be out of town on the day of the council meeting.

“I think a lot of people don’t realize that the current zoning will allow for Section 8 housing to be built,” Comardelle said. “Do they want public housing? That’s what it’s currently zoned for. I think we would see the same kind of uproar if someone tried to build an apartment complex or a Section 8 housing development. I think people just don’t want change.”

Comardelle said he does not believe a new IMTT facility in Luling would increase health risks for residents.

“I know the risks are here,” he said. “I know the chemicals are here. I think putting it on this side of the levee has gotten people’s attention. The chemicals are already going up and down the river. They’re already being transported here. This is just a holding point.”

He also said that the parish’s tax revenues are financed by industrial plants.

“How are we going to get lower taxes and better-paying jobs if we don’t allow industry to grow?” he said. “They don’t even realize they’re biting the hand that feeds them.”

But Davis Heights resident Nicole Cronin, who has stage 4 kidney cancer, said she’s most concerned about the potential health effects of a new chemical plant in the area. The Bayer plant in Luling is also next to the Davis Heights neighborhood. Cronin said she lives in a home her father built in 1968.

“Why put this little neighborhood between two chemical plants?” Cronin said. “It just doesn’t make sense.”

He also said residents sometimes smell the St. Rose facility when the wind shifts.

Huffman said a St. Rose resident told her she calls the area near the river “sacrifice alley.”

“That struck me,” Huffman said. “We’re making sacrifices for the almighty dollar. At some point that has to stop.”