By BEX Staff for AZBEX
It appears last month’s ceremonial groundbreaking and celebratory announcement for the KPPC Advanced Chemicals plant may have been premature.
The Casa Grande Planning and Zoning Commission rejected a request for a conditional use permit needed for the plant’s development during its Jan. 8 meeting. KPPC has the right to appeal within 10 days, according to officials.
The 26-acre site north of Commerce Drive and the Ash Avenue alignment would be home to an 88.7KSF project to produce chemicals used in the semiconductor manufacturing process. A local news outlet reported a primary reason for rejecting the CUP was Commissioners’ concerns about hazardous materials being transported into and out of the city on commonly used roads.
BEX research staff spoke with members of the project team on Jan. 6 and were told the December groundbreaking event was entirely ceremonial. No general contractor has been named yet.
KPPC Advanced Chemicals is part of Kanto Group and had asked for a CUP “to produce volatile materials within a General Industrial (I-2) zoning district,” according to the article.
The company plans to manufacture the materials, which include hydrochloric acid and ammonium hydroxide, in the first phase and has dedicated a space on the site for a sulfuric acid facility within five-to-seven years, subject to market demand.
Project representatives told the Commission the company will meet all the environmental requirements for the development and subsequent operations and it had exceeded all government safety requirements for air quality and wastewater treatment.
The Casa Grande Fire Department has been part of the review process for the CUP, site plan and building permit.
Still, when a dedicated alternative route could not be established, nor, according to the City Attorney’s Office, effectively mandated or enforced, a majority of members voted to deny the CUP request.
As of Jan. 9, it is unknown what the next steps, if any, will be for the planned facility.
Kanto Corporation is the project owner. The design firm is WSA Architects.
