Residents waiting patiently for word on the Bunge grain elevator decision won’t be happy. The state’s attorney general, Buddy Caldwell, recently offered his opinion and said that the grain elevator has the right to expand.
Leon “Sunny” Vial, the parish’s attorney, says Bunge is not in violation according to the attorney general’s opinion.
The opinion states that Bunge has permission to change its zoning from R1-A to M-1 to allow a track expansion by adding additional spurs on its property.
The M-1 zoning request would rezone Bunge’s property from single-family residential to light manufacturing and expand a railcar holding yard from a capacity of 50 to 100 cars.
Residents who live between the Bunge and the ADM Growmark grain elevators showed up by the hundreds to protest the expansion.
Councilwoman-At-Large Carolyn Schexnaydre says she and three other council members met with Bunge to improve the situation for the neighbors.
“We’ve met with Bunge on June 24 to try to get them to be good neighbors,” she said. “On July 1, we met with ADM to discuss ways they will also help to improve the dust situation.”
Schexnaydre says Councilmen Larry Cochran, Shelley Tastet, and Terry Authement were present in the meeting with Bunge representative Jerry Gibson.
Schexnaydre says she does not support a Bunge expansion, but the additional tracks won’t cause more harm.
“One of the suggestions from the meeting was to include the neighbors,” she said. “We suggested they notify them before they plan to do something and to work more closely with the community when it comes to cleaning dust off of their cars and homes.”
After hearing complaints about dust and noise created by the grain elevator, neighbors were opposed to the expansion.
The opinions of the attorney general are advisory only and they do not have the force and effect of the law.
They are limited to the facts presented by the official or officials requesting the opinion. Further, the opinions may be changed or recalled due to subsequent court decisions and/or legislative enactments. As the chief legal officer of the state, the attorney general is responsible for rendering opinions to governmental entities and officers only, and not to private individuals.
The opinion rendered by Caldwell states:
“St. Charles Parish Council could, as a matter of law valid, enact proposed ordinance requesting M-1 Light Manufacturing zoning district for simply rail spurs on property adjacent to an existing grain elevator zoned M-3 Heavy Industrial use.”
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