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Palm Beach County Lifts Ban on Nuclear Materials at Scientific Research Park

Posted on: Friday, 29 July 2005, 21:00 CDT

Jul. 29--Palm Beach County created another home for biotech companies Thursday, despite residents' concerns about the nuclear waste the industry could bring.

Florida Research Park won approval from county commissioners for changes to its development guidelines needed to accommodate spin-off industry that could follow The Scripps Research Institute to northwest Palm Beach County.

One of those changes lifted a prohibition against nuclear materials, which could be found at research labs and other scientific facilities Florida Research Park hopes to lure.

Some residents of the neighboring Caloosa equestrian community objected to the changes, raising concerns about potential pollution. They said they were not given enough notice about the push to change the rules for the industrial park.

The industrial park never delivered landscaping and lighting limits promised 20 years ago to appease neighbors and should not get a break from the old provisions, said Clyde Lowry, who lives in Caloosa.

"They sold us out," Lowry said about the County Commission vote in favor of the industrial park Thursday. "What they did today is basically throw [the rules] all out the window."

County officials agreed that Caloosa residents should have been notified sooner about the proposed changes, but they pressed forward with the effort to lure biotech companies and the jobs that follow.

"We just assumed everyone knew what was going on," County Commissioner Karen Marcus said.

Park representatives have said the level of nuclear material would be no more dangerous than what can be found at a hospital.

"There will be no ... nuclear plant at the park," said Ken Spillias, a former county commissioner who represents the research park.

The 1,245-acre Florida Research Park, north of the Beeline Highway and east of Seminole Pratt Whitney Road, once sought to be the home for The Scripps Research Institute's Florida expansion.

The California-based biotech company instead plans to open a research and development facility on the 1,919-acre Mecca Farms property, north of Northlake Boulevard. The county and state are investing $800 million in efforts to create a biotech village intended to lure other businesses and residents wanting to locate near Scripps.

The Florida Research Park, formerly known as the Park of Commerce, plans to dedicate about 600 acres to companies that want to be near Scripps.

The Caloosa homeowners association agreed to work with the industrial park to try to negotiate solutions to concerns about the types of companies allowed to operate there.

But that was not enough, said Robert Cherrnay, one of the residents who live beside the industrial park and opposed the changes because of pollution concerns.

"All of our water comes out of the ground," he said.

Industrial park spokeswoman Anita Mitchell said the facility is so committed to improving its relationship with its neighbors that she agreed to move to Caloosa.

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Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel

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