A packed crowd fills Bunnell City Hall for the Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board meeting on Sept. 1, where residents spoke in opposition to the proposed Project Butterfly landfill. Photo by Rich Carroll
Bunnell Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board members discuss Project Butterfly during the Sept. 1 meeting. The board voted 3-1 to approve a special exception for the proposed landfill. Photo by Rich Carroll
A sign opposing Project Butterfly was left at the front door of Bunnell City Hall during the Sept. 1 Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board meeting. Photo by Rich Carroll
A packed Bunnell meeting room turned out Tuesday night to oppose Project Butterfly, a proposed Class 1 landfill on about 610 acres west of the city, but the Bunnell Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board ultimately approved the project’s special exception in a 3-1 vote.
Resident after resident urged the board to reject or delay the proposal during the Sept. 1 meeting, raising concerns about groundwater, nearby farms, traffic, odors, property values and what many said was inadequate time to study the project before the hearing.
The proposal calls for a solid waste management facility at 518 County Road 45 on property currently used as a sod farm. The land is zoned Agriculture and Silviculture, or AG&S. Under Bunnell’s land development code, a solid waste management facility can be considered there through the special exception process. City staff recommended approval with 21 conditions.
Project Butterfly had been kept confidential under a Florida economic development statute until the applicant waived confidentiality at 10:46 a.m. Aug. 31, a little more than a day before the hearing. The applicant, Cocomero LLC, said the confidentiality was intended to protect business negotiations and competitive interests during the site-selection process.
The project team said the landfill would help meet the region’s growing need for waste disposal while bringing jobs and new revenue to Bunnell. According to an economic analysis submitted by the applicant, the project is expected to generate about $75 million in construction spending over five phases and create about 71 jobs once the landfill is operating.
The proposed conditions also include a $1.50-per-ton host fee paid to Bunnell for 20 years, with an option for another 20-year period.
But the economic arguments found little support among the residents who addressed the board.
One resident who lives near the proposed site said he spent much of his life savings moving to a quiet agricultural community and asked the board to delay a decision.
“What possible public interest is served by deciding this tonight?” he said. “If this is truly a good project for our community, it will still be a good project after public scrutiny.”
Another resident, whose family owns farmland surrounding the site, said the proposal threatens land that has been used for generations to grow vegetables.
“This is our farmland. It’s our water, it’s our workplace, and it’s our food supply,” she said.
Another speaker with years of experience hauling garbage to landfills focused on truck traffic and questioned whether State Road 100 could safely handle the additional vehicles. He also criticized the number of unanswered questions surrounding the proposal.
“You should figure it all out before you approve anything,” he said.
Several residents also criticized the timing of the disclosure, saying they had only learned the true nature of Project Butterfly the day before the meeting and did not have enough time to hire experts or research potential environmental impacts.
Dance, Pennington question whether PZA should decide
Flagler County Commissioner Andy Dance and County Commission Chair Leann Pennington also addressed the board during public comment.
Dance raised questions about Bunnell’s land development code and whether it treats a landfill differently from a broader solid waste management facility.
Pennington followed later with a request that the board stop the proceedings and send the issue back for further review.
“A landfill is not permitted for this board to approve in AG&S zoning according to your own code,” Pennington said. “They call it a waste management facility, but their own application says it is a Class 1 landfill.”
Pennington asked the board to table the application and allow the city to examine the issue further. She also argued that the proposal could have consequences for neighboring food-producing farms, including concerns involving water, runoff, birds and other potential sources of contamination.
“These aren't simply vacant ag around here,” Pennington said. “These are farms that grow food that enters our nation's food supply.”
City staff maintained that under the code as currently written, a landfill falls under the definition of a solid waste management facility and can therefore be considered as a special exception in the AG&S district.
Herbert and Romaniuk clash over decision
The sharpest debate of the night came at the end of the Project Butterfly hearing between board members Chelsea Herbert and Cory Romaniuk.
Herbert questioned whether the applicant had presented enough evidence for the board to conclude that the landfill would have minimal impacts on neighboring properties.
She also questioned the proposed host fee, the lack of a completed agreement governing that fee, the project's compatibility with surrounding agriculture and the differences in the city's code governing landfills and solid waste facilities.
“Nearly every question I asked tonight received answer of I don't know, no, or it's premature, but we're deciding tonight,” Herbert said.
Romaniuk took a different view. He said Bunnell needs to expand its commercial and industrial tax base and argued that the applicant had followed the process laid out in the city's existing code.
Herbert pressed him on what evidence supported approving the project.
“Tell me why you're a yes,” Herbert said. “What's the substantial evidence that makes you a yes?”
Romaniuk pointed to the AG&S zoning, the regulatory process and the work already performed by the applicant.
“Based on what was presented here, I don't know how we say no,” Romaniuk said.
Their disagreement continued into the economic impact of the project. Herbert cited University of Florida agricultural figures and argued that the landfill's projected 71 jobs should be weighed against Flagler County's existing agricultural economy.
Romaniuk countered with property rights.
“If an owner decides to sell that land to an organization, a company or whatever that wants to put that kind of business in and the zoning allows that business, who are we to say no?” he said.
Herbert first made a motion to deny the special exception. The motion died for lack of a second.
She then moved to table the application until October or November, arguing that the public had only about 31 hours after the project's details became public and needed additional time to gather experts, legal counsel and evidence.
That motion also failed for lack of a second.
Romaniuk then moved to approve the special exception, saying the applicant had followed the legal process and that the property was appropriately zoned for the requested special exception. Francena Koch seconded the motion.
The motion passed 3-1, with Herbert casting the lone vote against it.
The board was operating with four voting members Tuesday. Chair Gary Masten and Vice Chair Lyn Lafferty were absent and formally excused at the beginning of the meeting. Lafferty is associated with ownership interests in portions of the proposed project property. Gary Garner chaired the meeting, with Herbert, Romaniuk and alternate member Koch also participating.
The special exception approval does not authorize construction to begin. City staff said the applicant would still need state environmental permitting and major site plan approval, which would require additional technical studies and another public hearing before the PZA. Those reviews are expected to include hydrological, geotechnical and traffic studies.
For residents who spent much of Tuesday night urging the board to stop Project Butterfly, however, the 3-1 vote marked a significant first approval for a project many said they had barely had time to understand.
