LAWTON – A new proposal for rezoning the site where Firehawk Aerospace wants to build a rocket fuel plant includes buffer zones on the western and northern sides of the property.
Firehawk representatives and local officials announced the revised zoning proposal during a July 9 meeting between the representatives and residents of the Pecan Valley South housing addition, which is directly west of the Firehawk site. The meeting, which was not part of the process for rezoning the site, was designed to give residents a chance to learn more about Firehawk and its plans for the site.
“I think the primary purpose of this meeting is so that you just have a chance to know who they really are,” said Richard Rogalski, executive director of the Lawton Economic Development Authority. “You can decide how you feel about them going on this property, based on who they really are.”
Firehawk uses 3D-printed solid rocket fuel to produce safer and more efficient hybrid engines, according to a May 30 news release from the Lawton Economic Development Corp. The company plans to invest $22 million in machinery and equipment for a $23 million manufacturing plant in Lawton.
Firehawk wants to lease a 320-acre site north of the SW Rail Industrial Park, which is owned by the Comanche County Industrial Development Authority, for its manufacturing plant. The site, which is located between 112th Street and Goodyear Boulevard north of the railroad tracks, is currently zoned as a general agricultural district (A-1).
The plant would occupy approximately 160 acres of the site, and the rest of the property would remain vacant.
Firehawk and LEDA officials originally proposed changing the zoning classification for the entire site to I-4, or a heavy industrial district, which concerned the residents of Pecan Valley South. But the new proposal calls for designating a 1,000-footwide strip along the western edge of the site as a restricted manufacturing and warehouse district, or I-1, which is the most restrictive industrial zoning classification. That side is closest to Pecan Valley South.
Another 1,000-foot-wide section along the northern side would be rezoned as I-3, or a light industrial district. The rest of the site would be classified as I-4.
The final decision on rezoning the property rests with the Lawton City Council, which directed city staff in June to proceed with an administrative rezoning for the site as an I-4 district. ‘You have to be perfect every day’ Firehawk, which is based in Addison, Texas, has test sites in west Texas and a research-and-development plant in Chico, Texas, said Firehawk President Michael Stark. He said most of the company’s experimentation and formulation for its propellants will be conducted at the Chico site.
“This is not going to be an experimental location,” Stark said, referring to the Lawton site. “We want to make this a production site.”
Stark said Firehawk wants to be a good neighbor for Lawton because the company will be working with the Fires Center of Excellence on Fort Sill. He noted that Firehawk is currently working with the U.S. Department of Defense but is not working directly with Fort Sill.
Firehawk will conduct some testing at the Lawton site, but those tests will be determined by the company’s contracts.
“The systems that we’re looking at right now – generally when we test them, we’ll be testing them during the business hours of 9 to 3,” Stark said. “And they will be tested, generally, in a three-second to 10-second time frame.”
George Liddell, senior
Turn to FIREHAWK, p3 director of operations for Firehawk, said the
company will not inherit any problems from previous occupants of the site. He said the company has the ability to get it right the first time, using the most modern standards and tools available.
Liddell also said several state and federal agencies will inspect the plant before it opens for business.
“And once operational, it becomes like you’re a restaurant owner and the food inspector could turn up at any time,” he said. “They don’t tell you when they’re coming, which means you have to be perfect every day.”
Firehawk’s site plan includes quantity distance arcs, which are the prescribed minimum distances between an explosive storage or handling site and specific exposures, such as occupied buildings. The arcs, which are required by the U.S. Department of Defense, are designed to ensure public safety and protection.
The arcs cannot extend past the site, Liddell said.
“We have to be in full control of any land that circle goes over to make sure no one wanders into that area,” he said.
‘Safety purposes’ Following the meeting, Pecan Valley South resident Mark Gibson said the discussion answered many of his questions about Firehawk’s plans. However, he said he would still like more information about the quantity distance arcs, which will be determined by how much material the plant produces.
“That’s why I asked, ‘What is your production going to be, and what are those arcs going to be?’” he said. “Because I’m curious to see how close that arc is going to be to any of those houses.”
Gibson said he had originally suggested putting a 2,000-foot-wide buffer zone on the west side of the site, but he later realized that would not be feasible.
“Looking at their plan now, I realize they can’t get 2,000 feet, so I’m happy with the 1,000-feet buffer zone,” he said. “I’m happy with the I-1 (buffer zone) down 112th Street.” Another Pecan Valley South resident, Tamara Passut, said people who live in that neighborhood are not opposed to Firehawk, but they do not think a rocket fuel manufacturing plant is compatible with a residential area.
Passut said she was happy to see that Firehawk representatives are considering public safety and that they are aware of residents’ concerns. But she still objected to Firehawk’s plans to build its plant on that site.
“It doesn’t appear that it meets their needs for safety purposes,” Passut said. “They need a section of land that is further away from residential properties.”