By BOB MARTIN
Eagle Times Staff
CLAREMONT, N.H. — In what was the third round of discussions involving a slaughterhouse coming to Claremont, the Zoning Board of Adjustment voted unanimously to grant a variance to allow pork slaughter by Granite State Packing at 471 Sullivan Street.
After hearing from the public, the board briefly deliberated and agreed that the application met all criteria needed to be granted. Criteria includes public interest; the spirit of the ordinance; substantial justice; surrounding property values; and unnecessary hardships.
City Planner Austin Ford explained that the next steps involve the applicant working with the planning department to make sure everything is up to code and standards.
“They will go through the Technical Review Committee, which will be expanded with input by the FAA, and then reviewed by the planning board,” Ford said.
Ford said this will be several months down the road, as there will be site visits and getting federal and state approvals. Ultimately, it will need to be voted on and approved by the planning board.
Granite State Packing has been packaging meat at the former location of North Country Smokehouse since June 2023, which was also a long-time location of a slaughterhouse.
Applicant Peter Colman told the ZBA on Monday that the slaughterhouse will have 50 pigs slaughtered per day, five days a week. He noted that research from other communities with slaughterhouses have shown that it does not negatively impact property values, and he actually expects property values to increase.
He also said it should be an economic driver, as it will provide additional jobs in the community. Colman added that there will be no negative impacts on the city infrastructure and also noted that the building is a former location of a slaughterhouse that was operational for decades.
Each of the discussions with the ZBA has had very different climates, as the Nov. 4 meeting was primarily dominated by those voicing their opposition. Colman started off the discussion at Monday night’s meeting and noted that this time there was a large group of supporters of the slaughterhouse that were there to speak.
“Thanks everyone for showing up,” he said. “We have received a wide range of letters of support from individuals of all walks of life. The significance of these letters is based on the fact that these individuals have an understanding of our business and us as an entity. Second, they are deeply invested in the greater good of this community, and New Hampshire as a whole. They’ve taken the time to make informed decisions on the support of this expansion.”
Colman pointed out that there was a petition posted on the “What’s up Claremont” Facebook page that was in opposition. He said it highlighted some positive support for the slaughterhouse in a roundabout way. The post generated more than 200 comments, and he said many were actually in support of the expansion.
“I think it showed clearly that there are a lot of members in this community who are in support of what we’re doing,” Colman said.
Many of those who were at the meeting to speak in favor of the project were members of the Claremont Growers Collective, which is a group of members from 15 New Hampshire communities and seven Vermont communities. It involves owners residing in one of those two states for more than half the year, with 75% of sales being biological in origin. The focus is to create a more resilient local food system, and there are currently 60 member businesses.
Claremont Growers Collective Chair Shawn Walsh spoke first, explaining that he owns two residential properties and two businesses. One of the businesses is a farm, where they plan to raise pigs for pork in the future. He said he was there in official capacity for the CGC to tell that there is unanimous support from its eight board members.
“One of the many things that the pandemic did was show us how important local food resiliency is,” Walsh said, adding that just a trip to the grocery store and seeing the price of eggs shows this. “Having pork processed here in the community, and available for sale in the surrounding community, will help to increase our regional food resilience, as well.”
Emily Smith, owner of Bardo Farm in Croydon, also spoke in favor. She and her husband have been farming for 17 years, providing meat for the people of the area through farm stands.
“We have needed a local slaughterhouse in this area for a long time,” Smith said. “That has actually been our biggest challenge over the last 10 years at least — finding a local slaughterhouse and not having to drive to Massachusetts or all the way up north, or these different areas that are extremely costly to our operation.”
She said gas is the most expensive aspect, and keeping things local will help keep prices down. Smith said she feels Granite State Packing has done a great job with their butcher shop, and she feels this will continue with the slaughterhouse.
Retired farmer and former N.H. Agriculture Commissioner Steve Taylor of Meriden Village spoke in favor, saying he “would enthusiastically support clearing the path so this facility could be reactivated and put to good use.”
Taylor said a major problem for years was finding a way to get locally raised livestock processed and made available for the consuming public. He hopes this would be a “link in a chain of expansion” for local meat processing.
Also speaking in favor was Ben Nelson of Claremont Spice and Dry Goods, Julia Lownie of Dancing Bear Farm, and City Councilor Jonathan Hayden is the owner of Winter Street Farm, a vegetable farm and member of the CGC. They all reiterated that having access to a local processing plant is important for food resiliency.
Meg Hurley of Ward 2 spoke in opposition, saying that there are seven mobile units that can come to farms for slaughtering on-site. She said she has spoken with real estate agents who say the property value will go down and was also concerned about the slaughterhouse attracting rodents and driving up the bird population. She also said there is the potential for ex-cons to be working there, who have a recidivism rate of more than 80%.
Norma Limoges has been outspoken about her disapproval of the slaughterhouse, and said it is “not in the best interest of our citizens.” Limoges recently wrote to The Eagle Times, saying that the slaughterhouse is a “potential hazard for the city.” Concerns included health risks from animal waste, truck traffic, the introduction of wildlife and potential for pollution.
She had concerns about the waste that could enter the water and air, and that the facility could generate hazardous waste.
“It is strictly financial for the benefit of the business owner,” Limoges. “Our citizens cannot afford the risk associated with the disposal components alone.”
A public hearing and planning board vote will be the next course of action, at a meeting to be determined later.
