The Land Use and Zoning Committee took public comment for more than two hours on a proposal to rezone a parcel near Cortez Road and Beach Boulevard that would allow on‑site butchering and live‑animal processing. Hundreds of residents and community speakers opposed the measure and the committee agreed to continue the land‑use and zoning items to the November 18 hearing.

Planning staff described the request as a combined land‑use amendment and planned‑unit‑development to permit meat processing and related commercial uses. Staff noted the site is in a mixed commercial corridor but recommended that procedural criteria be met. Multiple residents and neighborhood associations urged denial on the grounds of incompatibility with surrounding residential areas, risks to well water and nearby wetlands, traffic and heavy‑truck routing through narrow residential streets (including Cortez Road), and the potential for odour, pests and property‑value decline.

Speakers who opposed the rezoning presented a range of concerns: that the land‑use change would amount to spot zoning; that established land‑use and comprehensive plan policies (2045 plan) protect single‑family and low‑density residential areas; that stormwater and wetland protections could be compromised; and that the logistics of trucking live animals through residential streets would create public‑safety hazards. Several speakers, including local residents and land‑use professionals, cited specific comprehensive‑plan policies and city code sections to argue the request conflict with neighborhood preservation objectives.

The applicant and their representatives said the project would be designed with modern controls for wastewater and odor and that on‑site operations would be regulated under state and federal inspection requirements. The applicant also said commercial access would be from Beach Boulevard and that the project had been redesigned and scaled in response to neighborhood concerns.

After extended public comment and staff exchanges, the committee declined to take final action and continued both the land‑use and the zoning items (items 487 and 488 in the agenda) to Nov. 18, 2025. Committee leadership said there would be no additional public‑hearing opportunities at Land Use & Zoning prior to that date, but emphasized that materials and staff reports would be filed for the Nov. 18 hearing. Several council members urged continued neighborhood engagement and more detailed technical materials on stormwater, traffic routing, and operations in advance of the next hearing.

The continuation preserves neighbors’ time to gather additional technical evidence and directs the applicant to supply further details for staff and committee review. The committee did not vote for or against the rezoning at this meeting.