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RYAM strikes again: claims city owes $6.6 million over lost property value

Posted
By Mike Lednovich

Rayonier Advanced Materials (RYAM) has filed a formal claim seeking $6.6 million in compensation from the City of Fernandina Beach, arguing the city’s denial of a proposed bioethanol production facility caused a significant loss in land value and violated the company's property rights.

At the heart of the dispute is the 2.97-acre portion of RYAM’s industrial site at 10 Gum St. RYAM intended to use the land to construct a second-generation (2G) bioethanol plant that would convert spent sulfite liquor — a byproduct of its pulp production — into ethanol. The city denied the project in February 2025, determining it constituted “chemical manufacturing or refining,” a use explicitly prohibited by the city's Comprehensive Plan and Land Development Code (LDC) under its I-2 zoning designation.
 

An appraisal commissioned by RYAM estimates the denial dropped the land’s value from $7.12 million to just $517,800, resulting in a loss of $6.6 million. The company maintains that the proposed project was a “reasonable extension” of its existing pulp mill operations and that the city’s actions imposed an “inordinate burden” under Florida’s Bert J. Harris, Jr. Private Property Rights Protection Act.

In a July 11, 2025, notice of claim sent to the city, RYAM formally demanded compensation and initiated the process required under the Harris Act. According to Florida law, the city has 150 days to respond to the claim. During this period, the city can choose to offer a settlement, modify its position, or maintain its original denial, potentially triggering further legal action.
 
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"The City's action has directly restricted and limited RYAM's ability to utilize the Property for the Project, a use that is both foreseeable and non-speculative, such that the denial has permanently thwarted RYAM's reasonable, investment-backed expectations. The inordinate burden created by the City's denial of the Project has resulted in a significant loss in the fair market value of the Property," stated RYAM's attorney Frederick Aschauer Jr.
 

RYAM officials have previously stated the company has $51 million invested in the bioethanol venture.

The city’s denial letter on February 4 and a written interpretation from City Manager Sarah Campbell emphasized that while the land is zoned for heavy industrial use, the ethanol plant crossed a legal line into prohibited chemical processing. The decision cited both the LDC and Comprehensive Plan, stating that “chemical or petroleum manufacturing or refining shall be prohibited” even within industrial zones.
 

RYAM contends the bioethanol project was not standalone chemical manufacturing but an integrated component of its existing operations, and thus allowable.

The city has not yet issued a public statement regarding the notice of claim. The Observer contacted City Attorney Teresa Prince for comment but had not received a response.
 
If the dispute is not resolved during the 150-day window, RYAM may file suit in circuit court, seeking full compensation for the claimed loss under the Harris Act.

Comments

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  • PaulaM

    They should have done their homework before they purchased the property. Probably thought they could pull some strings and get the rules changed. …that didn’t happen so now they’re stuck. Sell it at whatever they can get for it …it’s on them.

    Wednesday, August 27, 2025 Report this

  • Hibdon1998

    Interesting that RYAM wants to sue the City for millions! At previous meetings RYAM employees stood up & tried to paint RYAM as such a great community partner, how important this community is to RYAM, etc. Now they want to sue for millions & who will end up paying? Great community partner, RYAM, thanks but no thanks! You didn’t get your way & now you want to exact your revenge on the very community you allegedly respected during your campaign to allow ethanol processing.

    Wednesday, August 27, 2025 Report this

  • Mark Tomes

    So, does this mean RYAM is giving up its bioethanol project permanently, in order to claim this loss? And also, the Bert Harris Act has been a travesty for local rule, community rights, and small town and county budgets. It is one of the biggest giveaways to large corporations the our Republican-dominated state legislature has ever passed. The Bert Harris Act is corporate welfare, business socialism, and pure profit-over-people brown-nosing. True conservatives should be ashamed they voted for legislators who passed this bad legislation.

    Wednesday, August 27, 2025 Report this

  • paulnoble

    All homeowners should sue Ryam for the decrease in their property value, if we cave and let them build their chemical plant.

    Paul Noble

    Wednesday, August 27, 2025 Report this

  • JoeW

    oy vey! Ouch! Nice friends City of Fernandina Beach residents have.

    Wednesday, August 27, 2025 Report this

  • rswarner

    Bootstrapping and retaliation. Counterclaim time.

    Thursday, August 28, 2025 Report this

  • Bob121

    By extension of this logic, I should be able to ask for anything 'not allowed under code' in my yard, get turned down, and sue for diminished value? Seems like a silly idea.

    Thursday, August 28, 2025 Report this

  • DouglasM

    They're beginning to get on my nerves......who are those guys?

    Thursday, August 28, 2025 Report this

  • John Bertsch

    And these are the people running a major social media campaign saying how much they contribute to the good and welfare of the community and what valued and trusted employers they are. C’mon man, get real!

    Friday, August 29, 2025 Report this

  • LucyP74

    I second what Bob says. That’s what is wrong with the Bert Harris Law. It makes developers and these large companies think that they CAN do whatever THEY want, yet it leaves everyday citizens in the lurch in regards to their own personal property. It’s a backwards law that needs to change by just going away. Too many companies and developers use it for nefarious purposes.

    Saturday, August 30, 2025 Report this

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