Council at odds over chicken killing

Tuesday, June 17, 2003 | 9:47 a.m.

A Las Vegas City Council Recommending Committee on Monday wasn't sure what to do with a proposed ordinance that would allow the slaughtering and processing of poultry in commercially zoned areas adjacent to residential neighborhoods.

Councilman Michael Mack said he supports the measure, noting that the purchase of freshly killed chickens "is a cultural thing" and that such markets in Texas operate in a safe and healthy environment.

Councilman Lawrence Weekly said the issue "grosses me out" and said the council "needs more education" on the bill.

They sent the matter without recommendation to the full council to digest at a meeting next month.

Several area residents made no bones about it -- they don't want slaughterhouses at their neighborhood grocers.

"This will have a negative impact on our quality of life," Elaine Lindblom said.

"This is a can of worms that does not need to be opened," Linda Faso said. "If you approve chickens now, what's next, sheep and goats?"

Stacia Newman said the bill is unnecessary because industrial zoned areas of the city -- which in many cases are a good distance from neighborhoods -- already are zoned for chicken slaughtering.

Mack told the residents that he has toured the "laboratory environment" of one market that proposes to slaughter chickens and said people have misconceptions about the process. He noted the Clark County Health District has inspectors and that the process will not add odors to areas.

The bill stems from a request in January to the Planning Commission by the Liborio Market, at 930 N. Lamb Blvd., which wants to install a slaughter and processing center on site. Initially the market sought to amend the general plan to rezone the area to industrial. Instead, the Planning Commission opted to support a measure to allow the slaughter and processing of live poultry throughout the city.

That resulted in the proposed ordinance that, if passed, would require every applicant seeking to kill chickens at their stores to come before both the Planning Commission and City Council to get special use permits.

Other restrictions proposed in the ordinance include: delivery and pickup times limited to between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., limiting the number of birds at a delivery site to 50 per day and requiring all birds alive at the end of the business day to be slaughtered and packaged.