Carson Valley Meats representatives pinpointed the slaughterhouse location in a presentation before the commission. They emphasized the fact that the slaughterhouse will be set back from the freeway, creating a buffer for residents.
The Carson City Board of Supervisors will decide if Carson City is the right place for a slaughterhouse.
Resident Maxine Nietz filed an appeal of the Planning Commission’s approval of the slaughterhouse on Friday.
During public comment time at the Sept. 29 planning meeting, Nietz cited concerns that have been echoed by many others, including odor, smell, waste, and pollution of the Carson River.
“My basis for appeal is that Carson City is not a rural farming, ranching town,” she told the Appeal over the phone on Friday.
Nietz said she has served on the Planning Commission previously and sees it as a large oversight that the commission members allowed the applicant, Carson Valley Meats, to make substantial changes to their application during the meeting.
The Carson City Planning Commission approved a special use permit to construct a slaughterhouse along Highway 50 by a 4-1 vote with new conditions added after public comment was heard.
Per the added conditions, the slaughterhouse will be required to hold and process all animals indoors. There will be no outdoor corral area, and the indoor holding area will follow the same building standards as the initially proposed indoor processing area.
The conditions were added in response to public comments about odor, noise, and pollution.
Additionally, the slaughterhouse will return to the Planning Commission for a review one year after the start of their operations.
Nietz says that the new conditions should have been brought back for a second public hearing.
In its approval, the Planning Commission said it would like to ensure that Carson Valley Meats continues to meet all the requirements of their special use permit, including not infringing on residents’ peaceful enjoyment of the surrounding areas. Following the one-year review, the commission would have the option to implement regular annual reviews.
The original plans called for a 5,000 square foot building and a 5,600 square foot indoor corral area that would process no more than 60 animals per week, including beef, goat, lamb, swine, and wild game. Animals would remain in the corral area for no longer than 24 hours prior to processing. There will be a small retail component selling pre-packaged meats.
City staff is recommending approval of the slaughterhouse, with conditions restricting the facility’s exterior lighting, roadway, and stormwater.
The slaughterhouse will have to comply with ongoing restrictions, including limiting their hours of operation from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday and only harvesting animals one day per week. They may process wild game without limitation. Unusable portions of animals must be sprayed with denature, removed from the site on the same day of harvesting, and handled by a rendering company.
The closest homes to the property include a mobile home park to the west and a neighborhood across Highway 50.
A timetable of when the board of supervisors will hear the appeal was not available Friday.
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