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Residents oppose IMTT’s rezoning request, question its intended use [Video]

People in St. Charles parish say they don’t want a liquid storage facility to rezone in their backyards. On Wednesday, IMTT held a public meeting to answer questions from residents in hopes of clearing up concerns they may have about the rezoning application and its intended use. Kayla Dantin lives in Davis Heights, a subdivision near an IMTT-owned property and questions why the company wants to rezone part of 600 acres.”They haven’t taken anything into consideration. Infrastructure, our safety, nothing,” said Dantin.IMTT is a bulk liquid storage company that houses chemicals including oils, renewable fuels and petroleum products. According to the company, they acquired the land in 2023 without any specific projects in mind. “They say they don’t have any plans then why are they asking to do it at this moment,” said Davis Heights resident Wes McCall.The company’s Chief Financial Officer, Matthew Rosenboom said, the rezoning would change the residential and commercial area into a light manufacturing zone with an open buffer. “To house things like parking lots and large warehouses for storing equipment and things like that,” said Rosenboom.He said, that in the area close to homes, the company will not store any hazardous products. Rosenboom added the company and rezoning could benefit the community “We think not only are those attractive jobs, we also provide financial support to the community,” said Rosenboom.Mark Dufrene who also lives in Davis Heights said, his biggest concern with the rezoning is his health.”Makers of Roundup on one side and now they want to sandwich us on the other side with another chemical plant,” said Dufrene.Dantin added that rezoning is not welcomed by people who fear it could negatively impact their livelihoods in more ways than one.”We put our blood sweat and tears into those homes, they may not be million-dollar homes, but to us, they are our castles,” said Dantin.