CITY OF FRANKLIN — The City of Franklin's Common Council will be reportedly reconsidering Strauss Brands LLC’s proposed slaughterhouse, according to the Milwaukee Business Journal.
The TMJ4 News partner reportsthat city officials will consider the proposal at a meeting on Monday. The council had previously rejected the proposal with a 4-2 vote on Oct. 20.
The reversal comes after Strauss as well as members of the business community called on the council to give it a second chance, MBJ reports.
Noteworthy among the calls was a letter sent to the council from Strauss' Madison law firm, Stafford Rosenbaum LLP.
“The motion to deny simply recited ordinance provisions without providing any factual basis to support how the facility did not satisfy the ordinance standards,” according to the letter. “Rather, the city relied upon general public opposition to the project based entirely on speculation.”
Last year, Strauss was forced to cancel a proposed $60-million facility in Milwaukee in the face of opposition from protesters and a vote from the Milwaukee Common Council.
The Franklin-based company then proposed its 150,000-square-foot building on land it owns in the City of Franklin, at Loomis Road near Ryan Road. Strauss promised the plant would hire upwards of 270 workers.
At the Common Council meeting on Oct. 20, critics expressed concerns over the smells, property values and pollution such a facility might lead to. Executives with Strauss contend the high-tech plant would be clean and efficient.
Strauss already operates a meat processing plant, albeit smaller than the proposed one, in the Franklin Business Park at 9775 S. 60th St.
Strauss has operated in the city for more than 50 years.
