Fill out this form to email this article to a friend
This time business gets okay to expand
The county denied Sun Fiberglass Pools' original application after black residents of Brooksville protested.
By ASJYLYN LODER
Published October 13, 2005
BROOKSVILLE - The Hernando County Commission voted Wednesday to approve a controversial proposal to expand a pool manufacturing business in south Brooksville.
It was the second time Sun Fiberglass Pools came before the commission proposing to add a sales office to its Martin Luther King Boulevard business. Residents opposed its expansion because of the additional pollution, noise and traffic that the growing business might generate.
Curt Prystupa, owner of Sun Fiberglass Pools, said he was pleased with the vote.
"It gives us an opportunity to move forward," Prystupa said. The rezoning, approved 4-1, will allow him to turn a vacant house into a sales office, and to add at least six new jobs to his staff of 60, he said.
The commission denied his original application in late July after local residents protested. Prystupa redesigned his plans for a sales office to try to allay some of the concerns of area residents. He eliminated outside storage, agreed to have the house zoned commercial rather than industrial, and said he will not allow heavy commercial vehicles on the property.
The debate became racially polarized, with many black residents complaining that industrial businesses - with their noise and pollution - are often allowed in the back yard's of the county's poor, black residents.
"We've got to put up with cement trucks, block trucks, and now we've got to put up with pool trucks," said Joseph Maner, who lives nearby on Josephine Street.
Two of Prystupa's employees - both black - came forward to support Prystupa.
"I just want people to know that he's not a racist," said John Roy, who has worked for Sun Fiberglass Pools for nearly four years.
Paul Boston, an opponent of the expansion, promised the commission that area residents would continue to fight the decision.
Asjylyn Loder can be reached at aloder@sptimes.com or 352 754-6127.
[Last modified October 13, 2005, 01:11:19]
Share your thoughts on this story
|
News
Fifty years ago, they were screwed-up kids sent to the Florida School for Boys to be straightened out. But now they are screwed-up men, scarred by the whippings they endured. Read the story and see a video and portrait gallery.
Print
Email story
Comment
Email editor
