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Residents urge council to relocate proposed Amcor facility from Vistancia, cite water, safety and transparency concerns
Summary
During public comment on May 13 dozens of residents and neighborhood leaders urged the council to move a proposed Amcor plant from Vistancia/Trilogy, raising claims about water use, potential PFAS contamination, traffic, zoning misrepresentations and lack of transparency. Speakers said they are organizing petitions and legal challenges.
Multiple Peoria residents used the meeting’s public‑comment period on May 13 to press the City Council to move a proposed Amcor facility away from Vistancia and Trilogy, raising health, water‑use, traffic and transparency concerns and signaling intent to pursue legal and organizing actions.
Speakers from the Vistancia/Trilogy area described the proposed plant as incompatible with the neighborhood and urged relocation. Pam Gibson, who said she lives in Trilogy, asked the council to “pull back and find another location that suits Amcor,” saying the facility’s proximity to a new school and to retirement communities risks residents’ health and quality of life.
Other speakers made specific claims and requests. Norman Reed said the facility had been presented to residents as an assembly and packaging operation but, he asserted, would actually be an industrial manufacturing plant with much larger scale than initially communicated. Multiple commenters raised concerns about water use and contaminants; one remark in the record asserted the plant would use 2,000,000 gallons daily with 80% returned to municipal treatment and questioned the city’s capacity to remove PFAS‑type residues. Kathy Bantleham, who called the proposal a “train wreck,” said residents feel betrayed by what she called a lack of transparency and said Citizens for Smart Growth, Peoria, AZ has collected thousands of signatures opposing the site.
Several speakers described coordinated resident action: Steve Riggins and others said volunteers placed informational flyers throughout the neighborhood and posted an online petition that they reported had thousands of signatures, and that they have prepared a 73‑page analysis they say details zoning violations and will form the basis of a potential lawsuit if a building permit is issued.
John Forsyth and others accused city officials of deception and said they want elected officials to resign; Forsyth cited comments he attributed to city staff about compliance with state law and questioned staff credentials. Doreen Powers and other long‑time residents said their opposition is not “NIMBYism” but a concern for children, water and air quality. Several speakers asked council to negotiate an alternate location for Amcor and to delay approvals.
Speakers also raised financial and legal concerns: one commenter referenced the Arizona Constitution’s gift clause and alleged the land transaction or donation connected to the project could raise constitutional issues; another speaker said they had requested documents from the city but not received them.
Council did not take action on the remarks during the public comment segment; the transcript records extensive public input but does not include a council response or a formal staff reply on the Amcor topic during that portion of the meeting.
Several neighborhood organizers said they will continue to protest and to pursue legal remedies if the city issues permits or otherwise advances the project in the current location.
