(WHAS11) - Louisville's board of zoning could soon shut down the Swift meat-packing plant in Butchertown.
The board will begin making decisions about the plant's future after meeting being held Monday.
The Butchertown neighborhood association is upset because Swift began building a hog chute last year without getting the city's permission first.
Swift stopped construction but the neighborhood doesn't want construction resume.
Swift says building the chute will actually help cut down on smell from the pigs but the neighborhood says what Swift has already done with the chute is too much.
"Which is grounds for revocation of that permit. They can actually lose their right to operate here. Actually, it's not a right. It's a privilege. And so we're here on Swift's request for after-the-fact permission. First and foremost we want to make sure the board doesn't grant them permission to expand which they've already partially done," said Jon Salomon, Attorney for Butchertown Neighborhood.
"There is a gap of about 5 feet or so where if they put pigs in there they would fall down and break their legs or something. They simply cannot use that. So it's not true that they have built it and it's not true that it's in operation. Neither one of those are true," said Glen Price, J.B. Swift Company Attorney.
The board of zoning will decide if Swift can resume construction on the hog chute but because of what they've already done, Swift could lose their permit to operate under Kentucky law.
The board of zoning will make that decision at an upcoming meeting.
