Resident Vows To Fight Zephyrhills Water's Expansion

ZEPHYRHILLS - The plans sound innocuous enough: 6.8 acres devoted to a retention pond.

But for neighbors who live near the Zephyrhills Spring Water Co. bottling plant, the retention pond signifies something much bigger. And they plan to fight it.

"I don't want to see this town that my family came into, and pretty much built, be destroyed by some corporation," said Zach Arnold, whose family has lived on Leaf Lane, near the plant, for close to 100 years.

Arnold is circulating a petition to persuade the Zephyrhills City Council to nix a land-use change that would allow the bottled water plant to relocate a retention pond to the small plot of land just east of the facility and north of Tucker Road. The city council is to hear a report recommending the change at its meeting Monday.

If the change were to go through, it would clear a path for the bottling facility to expand. If the retention pond were relocated, the company plans to move parking spaces and then make room for expansion.

That's where Arnold is worried; he doesn't like the idea of Nestle Waters North America, the company that owns the Zephyrhills water brand, getting bigger and pumping more water out of the ground. He also doesn't want it taking up more space on the southeast side of town.

The thing is, though, there's little else that could be built in that area, city officials say.

"You know, if you're not going to allow people to do residential there, then industrial makes the most sense in that area," said Todd Vande Berg, the city's director of development services.

For years, city officials have been trying to encourage industrial development on the southern and eastern edges of the city, near the Zephyrhills Municipal Airport. That's why the city planning commission and Vande Berg are recommending the change for the retention pond, which would be an industrial use.

With the city planning commission already having recommended the change, Vande Berg made the case to the city council last week, but supporters failed to muster enough votes.

Representatives from Nestle plan to attend Monday's meeting to address any concerns the city and residents may have, company spokesman Jim McLellan said.

"Clearly, the company has been a good corporate citizen in Zephyrhills for many years," he said. "The plant employs 350 people and pays an above-average wage, and has done so for a long time."

The council will meet at 6 p.m. Monday at Zephyrhills City Hall, 5335 Eighth St.