Planners to consider poultry slaughtering

Judy Odierna

Thursday, April 24, 2003 | 9:10 a.m.

Las Vegas could move one step closer tonight to allowing stores to slaughter poultry on-site with some restrictions, such as limiting the number of chickens at a delivery point or loading area.

The proposed restrictions will be presented to the Planning Commission at 7 p.m. as commissioners once again consider the proposal. A representative from the Clark County Health District will also be on hand to answer any questions about health concerns.

"We went back and looked at other grocery stores where it has been allowed and what conditions were placed on those establishments," said David Clapsaddle, city planning supervisor.

Some of those conditions include restrictions on the number of birds kept on site, which would be set at 50 birds or less at a delivery point or loading area. The city is also adding that delivery and pick-up times would only be between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. with the City Council's ability to impose stricter rules case by case.

There are also requirements from the Clark County Health District that any future establishment would have to follow. Those include the prohibition of live birds kept on the premises for an extended period of time as well as dipositing waste directly into the sewer system.

The regulations also mandate that slaughtering and processing take place in a chamber separated from other areas of the market and that the store contract with a private firm experienced in handling remains.

The city would add that the applicant must store the live birds in an enclosed structure on the site where processing would take place and that the slaughtered birds must be sold on-site.

Numerous residents have opposed the proposal because it would apply to limited commercial zoning, also known as C-1 zoning. That zoning is usually located on the periphery of residential neighborhoods and includes most retail areas.

The zoning change, which would also need to be approved by the City Council, would mean any business in the city with C-1 zoning could seek permission to kill and process chickens. Special use permits require public hearings, however, and each case would have to come before both the Planning Commission and the City Council.

The Liborio Market, 930 N. Lamb Blvd., is seeking to put a poultry slaughter and processing center on site. Residents in the area pleaded with the Planning Commission in February to deny the zoning change because the store is so close to a stormwater wash and numerous homes.

In 2001, the City Council rezoned the Liborio Market lot to allow limited commercial use but deleted any industrial uses for which the killing of live birds would have been allowed.

In January, representatives for Liborio Market sought to amend the general plan to rezone the area back to industrial, but the Planning Commission decided to postpone any decision.