In December, the Carson City Planning Commission granted Carson Valley Meats a special use permit to operate a meat processing facility near Highway 50 and Detroit Road. Residents Doreen Mack, Kathleen Franco Simmons, Jennifer Verive and Robert Butner have all filed appeals of that decision. The Board of Supervisors will meet Feb. 3 to deliberate whether the commission’s decision was justified. The appellants claim that a slaughterhouse at that location will infringe on the use, peaceful enjoyment, value, or development of properties in the neighborhood, which violates a condition of the slaughterhouse’s approval. Verive herself spearheaded the Coalition of Citizens for Peaceful Enjoyment and previously submitted a 2,100-page report against the meat processing plant. She has also commented at city meetings, asking officials to remove slaughterhouses as a permissible use in the municipal code. During their Dec. 15 meeting, the Planning Commission agreed that the steep conditions of approval will protect residents from detrimental impact. Carson Valley Meats will be required to operate the slaughterhouse entirely indoors, and it will not be allowed to hold more than 60 animals at a time. The commission may revoke the permit if an annual review reveals that a person can smell offensive odors or hear noise related to the processing of animals at the property line. Supporters of the meat processing facility say it will be beneficial to 4-H programs and farm-to-table food options in Carson City. The supervisors will meet for their regularly scheduled meeting at 8:30 a.m., but the appeals are scheduled to be heard no earlier than 5 p.m. Public comment opportunities will be held at the beginning and end of the meeting, so residents who would like to comment on the appeals will need to arrive for the 8:30 a.m. portion of the meeting or wait until the end of the meeting, after the appeals have been deliberated. Alternatively, residents may submit public comment to publiccomment@carson.org. The board will meet in the Robert “Bob” Crowell Board Room at the Community Center on 851 E. William St. The full agenda for the regularly scheduled morning meeting and evening appeals has yet to be posted.
