OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — People in an Osceola County neighborhood say dust from a nearby development is reaching their homes.
“I’m a prior war veteran, and some days it looks like a Middle Eastern dust storm where you couldn’t even see the roads,” said Jeremy Fetzer, government affairs liaison for the Osceola Action Committee.
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Fetzer said residents who live along Kissimmee Park Road are tired of seeing massive dust storms on thousands of acres of land currently under development.
“It’s a health and safety issue,” he said.
Fetzer said he wants to see the city of St. Cloud get more strict on projects.
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City code says sites need to be developed without hazards to people or property on or off the tract, and developers need to submit erosion plans to keep the dust in check.
“We want the developers to be held accountable to the standards and the laws,” Fetzer said.
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In a statement, the city said project managers are required to have a water trucks running to help mitigate dust, especially during periods of drought like over the last few weeks.
The city added that it has a dedicated construction inspector who visits sites to ensure methods of dust control are in place.
The project’s developer, BTI Partners, sent Channel 9 the following statement in regards to the dust complaints:
“As soon as we were made aware of the concerns surrounding the Edgewater East and West properties, we have taken action to ensure that all local regulations and ordinances were being followed.
Edgewater West is an agricultural property that is leased to a cattle rancher who is also using the land as a sod farm. The noise and lights observed by the neighboring property were from the rancher cutting sod in the early morning. Although early morning work is industry standard and allowed under the agricultural land use, we are actively working with the rancher to adjust the working hours of the farm in order to minimize the impact on surrounding residents.
The dust observed at Edgewater East is a result of it being an active construction site, and we have confirmed that the homebuilders and the Community Development District are following all jurisdictional rules and regulations for erosion and dust control.
We take the concerns seriously and we want to assure residents that we are committed to being good neighbors. We will continue to work with the community moving forward.”
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