Neighbors of a proposed hog containment facility in rural Milan, Illinois, voiced their anger with the plan Tuesday at the monthly Bowling Township meeting.
Scott Crowl of Crowl Farms plans to build a facility for 2,400 hogs on family property on 42nd Street West. Neighbors have raised a variety of concerns, including the plant's impact on everything from health to property values.
“I have an acreage out there, and this is going to seriously devalue my acreage," said Norman Dunlap, who lives about a mile from the proposed site.
Another concern at Tuesday's meeting was the wear-and-tear of heavy trucks needed to build the facility on 42nd Street.
“There’s no base to the road, and it's gonna cost a lot of money for rock to maintain it -- all taxpayers. The taxpayers should not foot the bill for this," said Jeff Garrett.
Livestock business developer Nic Anderson, who is working with Crowl, tried to address worries like smell outside Tuesday's township meeting.
“That distance helps dispel some of those odors and issues that people might have. The family farm there, the Crowls, have also looked into tree buffers and other ways to address odors," said Anderson.
Anderson said most residents are simply dealing with "fear of the unknown." Neighbors, though, said even if there's little they can do to stop the plan from moving forward, they hope Crowl will pick another location.
“I fully appreciate that the county has zoned that agricultural land, and Scott has the right to build that out there. Does he have the right to infringe on all his neighbors? I don’t believe so," said Dunlap.
“We all like to eat pork, but do it somewhere else," added Garrett.