The site of the deadly Givaudan Sense Colour explosion in the Clifton neighborhood would never again be home to a heavy industrial use under a proposal currently before Louisville Metro Council.
The property, located at 100 S. Spring St., is in the middle of a residential neighborhood near Frankfort Avenue. Last November, a cooking vessel containing caramel coloring failed, causing an explosion that killed two workers and injured 11 others. The explosion also blew out windows and ripped pieces off of the roofs of nearby homes.
In the wake of the explosion — the second at the plant since the early 2000s — neighbors said they wanted the industrial plant out of their neighborhood for good.
Metro Council Member Andrew Owen, whose district includes the Givaudan plant, filed legislation last week that could do just that.
“Throughout this process I have felt really powerless, because I haven’t felt like there’s been a whole lot I could do except help my constituents process and host community meetings,” Owen said. “This is one way where I feel like I can say to my constituents: ‘I heard you, I agree with you and we’re going to try to get this done.’”
Owen’s resolution would direct the city’s Planning Commission to review the property’s zoning, the classification that decides what can be built there. Currently, the land is zoned M-2, which is high intensity industrial and manufacturing.
The resolution asks the Planning Commission to consider “a lower, more appropriate zoning classification.”
Owen, a Democrat, said the Planning Commission will have to decide the future of the property: Should it be apartments or single-family homes? Should it allow office space or retail? Owen said he’d personally like to see something “mixed-use and high density,” meaning apartments.
What’s clear to him, he said, is that the zoning must change.
“We’ve, from the very beginning, taken the stance that this was no longer going to be an industrial property,” Owen said.
Jeff Peppet, content and communications director for Givaudan , told LPM News in a statement that a company representative met with Owen Monday night to discuss the zoning question, but said “there was no conclusion from the conversation.” The company is currently seeking a permit from the city to demolish what’s left of the factory.
Owen said Givaudan executives were not surprised by the proposal to rezone the property. He said their main concern was that the city should move fast, whatever its decision.
The proposal has the backing of Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg. At a press conference last month, Greenberg said he supports a rezoning.
“Givaudan still owns that property,” he said. “Some cleanup continues, but I would love to see a different use for that site in the future."
Metro Council unilaterally deciding to rezone a property is rare.
Typically, a property owner would request a change in zoning. Metro Council rarely decides to force a rezoning and for good reason: doing so opens the city up to lawsuits and accusations of infringing on private property rights.
Those concerns were part of the discussion Tuesday afternoon at Metro Council’s Planning and Zoning Committee.
Some Republican committee members warned against “opening up a can of worms we cannot close.”
District 19 Council Member Anthony Piagentini, who heads the Republican Caucus, said he was concerned about setting a precedent.
“If we downzone a property which affects the land value of a private citizen, or in this case a company … then we open ourselves up to a potential lawsuit, because we have taken value without due process,” he said.
Piagentini voted in favor of passing the legislation during the committee meeting, saying he wanted to see what the Planning Commission recommends. The council would vote on the commission’s proposal to enact the rezoning. Piagentini said at that stage he could go either way, depending on if the company opposes the plan or not.
The council’s Planning and Zoning Committee voted 4-3, narrowly deciding to forward the legislation with a recommendation to approve it.
The resolution will be on the agenda when the full Metro Council meets on Tuesday, Dec. 16 at 6 p.m., its final meeting of the year.
Residents interested in speaking about the proposal may contact the Metro Council Clerk’s Office to sign up.
