(WHAS11) - A battle is brewing in Butchertown over work that the Swift Meat Packing Company is trying to get approved by the Metro Board of Zoning.
The Butchertown Neighborhood Association and JPS Swift met with the board today but a decision on approving the work was delayed.
The neighborhood association claims that the plant has already expanded without following proper procedures.
The expansion includes a 4000 sq. ft. unloading chute as an addition to an existing hog pen and a new boiler room.
"The enclosure to the chutes allows more rapid offloading of hogs into the staging areas of the plant. Presently it takes about 60 minutes, with the enclosure it will take about 20 minutes," says JPS Swift.
The Butchertown Neighborhood Association says, "They are now saying their justification for building the new hog chute is to decrease the odor from the pig feces that wafts around our neighborhood so it's nice to hear them recognize that is an issue. But one thing they're not mentioning by reducing the off loading time is that they're allowing the possibility for more trucks and more pigs to be brought in."
The board didn't make a decision today but will hold a public hearing on August 31st.
