NO URBAN SLAUGHTER-HOUSES, PLEASE!

Despite significant opposition from neighborhood citizens and
businesses', the Buffalo NY zoning officials have approved plans
by two Brooklyn businessmen to open a slaughterhouse on William
Street where they plan to butcher poultry, goats, lambs, rabbits
and calves.

The Common Council will likely approve the business' license,
Council President David A. Franczyk said today.

The building at 1285 William St. also houses a Subway
sandwich shop, and its owner, Bobby Horton (pictured at left) 
is worried the slaughterhouse could put them out of business.

The Zoning Board of Appeals unanimously approved the
plan, but with some conditions. No outdoor animals pens
will be allowed. The roof and walls must be insulated to
prevent odors from seeping outside, and a vent must be
installed. All proper permits will also have to be obtained from
the city, county and state.

Mustasa Jaarah, the owner of the soon-to-be slaughter
house,  said he's pleased with the decision and expects to
begin renovations by early May. He hopes the slaughterhouse
will be open by August or September. The project will include a
butcher shop and farmers' market.

The Zoning Board announced its decision one day after
project supporters and opponents faced off at a City Hall
hearing. The outcry against the slaughterhouse is "getting
louder and louder," said Bobby Horton, who owns a Subway
sandwich shop in the same building that would house the new
business. Horton said 300 people have signed a petition that
opposes the plan. Any odor from the slaughterhouse could doom
his business, he told zoning officials. "If there's a stench, and even
one or two people get a whiff of that, we're done," he said.

His wife, Felicia Horton, said the mere thought of having butchering operations under the same roof as a Subway shop could turn off
many of her customers. "If they're cutting up [animals], are you
going to want to come up front an eat some meat?" she asked.

But Jaarah said he's convinced the two businesses can coexist
under the same roof and thrive. "They definitely will not smell
anything bad. We're not going to create any problems for them,"
said Jaarah, who is opening the business with his father, Yousef.
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What supporters of the slaughter-house fail to consider, are the
very real environmental problems generally known and associated
with slaughterplants.

In Kaufman, Tx, neighbors shut down a local slaughterhouse
because not only were the smells & "slaughterhouse debris"
offensive, but the run-off of blood and manure were seeping
into the towns water-system. Here is an article from the mayor
of Kaufman who was instrumental in closing the slaughter-house
in her city down.

From Paul Bacon, former mayor of Kaufman, Tx;

As a mayor who lived with (the slaughterhouse) plague in my 
town for many years, who knows what the slaughter industry
really is and what it does to a community,  please allow me to tell
you what we experienced. The industry caused significant and long
term hardship to my community.  

The Dallas Crown slaughtering facility had been in operation in
Kaufman since the late 70's and from the beginning had caused
problems both economically and environmentally. I have listed
some of the specific
issues below.

I will gladly provide you with detailed reports from my former
City Manager, Police Chief, and Public Works Director regarding
odor and wastewater effluence violations at the Dallas Crown 
slaughter plant in the City of Kaufman.. The reports reference
"decaying meat [which] provides a foul odor and is an attraction
for vermin and carrion," containers conveyed "uncovered and
leaking liquids," there are "significant foul odors during the daily monitoring of the area," and "Dallas Crown continually neglects
to perform within the standards required of them."

Therefore, in August of 2005, our City Council decided by
unanimous decision to send the Dallas Crown issue to the Board
of Adjustments for termination of their non-conforming use status.
In March of 2006, the Board of Adjustments voted to order Dallas
Crown closed, but the plant was able to tie the enforcement up in
the courts until they were finally closed under state law in February
of 2007. 

*Dallas Crown had a very long history of violations to their
industrial waste permit, over-loading' the capacity of the
wastewater treatment plant.
* Dallas Crown denied the City access to their property for
wastewater testing beginning October 1, 2004 until July 6, 2005 ,
despite requirement by city ordinance, city permit agreement, and
court order.
* City staff reported that a $6 million upgrade to our wastewater treatment plant would be required to fix the problems caused by
the slaughterplant. 
* Odor problems resulting from the outside storage of offal and
hides over several days persisted at the nearby Presbyterian
Hospital , the daycare center, and surrounding areas.
* Transport of offal and fresh hides on City and state thoroughfares
is conducted in leaking containers without covers.
* City documents reveal an extended history of efforts to have
Dallas Crown address various environmental issues. Reports
include descriptive language including such as "blood flowing
east and west in the ditches from your plant," "It has been over
45 days [it had been 59 days] and no apparent cleanup has
occurred," "Your system has not improved and subsequently it has
gotten a lot worse," "Words cannot express the seriousness" of
recent violations and the "adverse effects on the wastewater
treatment plant," and "Please be sure trailers are secured before
leaving your premises to prevent spills,"
noting also "bones and blood laying in front of the facility,"
problems with bones and parts in neighboring yards and the
attraction of "dogs and other animals."
* In response to 29 citations for wastewater violations, each
accompanied by a potential fine of $2,000, Dallas Crown
requested 29 separate jury trials, potentially causing yet another economic strain to the City's budget. We could, of course, not afford
to litigate in order to extract the fines * Dallas Crown took 11 months
to submit a mandatory "sludge control plan" to assist efficient
operation of the wastewater treatment plant though City staff
requested it orally and in writing many times.
* The City Manager advised me that the City would have to
spend $70,000 in legal fees because of Dallas Crown problems,
which was the entire legal budget for the fiscal year.

Dallas Crown had a negative effect on the development of
surrounding properties, and a slaughter plant is a stigma to the development of our city generally. I have since learned that
these problems were mirrored at the other two plants. Fort
Worth's Beltex slaughter plant also violated Ft. Worth's
wastewater regulations several times, clogged sewer lines,
and both spilled and pumped blood into a nearby creek
(San Antonio Current, June 19, 2003 ). 
The slaughter plant in DeKalb , IL had a similar pattern. It was
charged and fined by the DeKalb Sanitary District almost every
month from the opening until its closing in 2007 under a new state
law for consistently exceeding wastewater discharge guidelines.
I can provide you with the documentation of those violations.
-----------------

Signers and those who oppose slaughter-plants, particularly in
urban areas, please contact the following individuals and let them
know how you feel;

Common Council Committee-member David A Franczyk at: 
http://www.ci.buffalo.ny.us/Home/Leadership/CommonCouncil/CommonCouncilMembers/DavidFranczyk or email him directly at: 
     dfranczyk@city-buffalo.com

Buffalo Zoning Board of Appeals
(716) 851-5201

Mayor of Buffalo, Byron W. Brown;
http://www.ci.buffalo.ny.us/Home/Leadership/Mayor 
or email him directly at:
   MayorBrownWebmail@ch.ci.buffalo.ny.us

Buffalo Division of Urban Affairs;
Karen Stanley-Fleming, Director
(716) 851-5713

Buffalo Economic Development, Permits & Inspection Services;
Pat Sole, Supervisor of Licenses
Phone:  716-851-4078  Fax:  716-851-4952

Please also, if you can help this community that is fighting against
the plan for a slaughterhouse in their neighborhhood, please
contact Bobby Horton at (716) 602 8119 - or email him at:
  BYellowwood@aol.com
If you can help in any way, he is anxious to hear from you!

Article; Buffalo News
http://www.buffalonews.com/home/story/619834.html
Article: Huffington Post;
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/27/slaughterhouse-unwelcome-_n_179914.html
 WKBW.Com; Channel 7 News Video;
http://www.wkbw.com/news/local/41973367.html
WTOP.Com;
http://www.wtop.com/?nid=456&sid=1634765
Seattlepi.Com;
http://www.seattlepi.com/national/1120ap_odd_slaughterhouse_sub_shop.html

No to slaughterhouses in urban areas!

Thanks for caring signers!