The city of Franklin Common Council on Tuesday night denied a request by Strauss Brands that would have allowed the company to expand its operations in the community.
Strauss Brands had proposed building a new 152,000-square-foot meat processing facility on 30.2 acres southwest of West Loomis Road and the new Monarch Drive. The facility would allow the company to process up to 500 head of cattle per day and would be staffed by more than 270 employees.
But Common Council members on a 4-2 vote rejected a needed special use permit on the project. The city’s Plan Commission endorsed the special use earlier this month and also gave final approval on the project site plan.
The proposal was controversial among residents heading into Tuesday’s meeting. A petition created on Change.org claims that meat processing facilities of this size creates “serious public health (and) environmental pollution issues.”
Company officials could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday morning.
Franklin is now the second community that has rejected Strauss Brand’s expansion plans. The company last year dropped its plans to relocate to the Century City business park in Milwaukee amid protests and after the project lost support from the local alderman.
A spokesman with Milwaukee’s Department of City Development declined to say whether talks might resume with the company and its Century City proposal.
“We are aware of the latest developments (in Franklin),” DCD spokesman Jeff Fleming said. “We have nothing to share publicly at this stage.”
