Jacksonville grocer Apna Bazar is withdrawing its request to build a slaughterhouse at its Beach Boulevard store, owner Mohammed Faisal announced in a Nov. 12 statement.
Apna Bazar had sought to build a 30,000-square-foot addition and a 23,800-square-foot freestanding structure east of the halal grocery store at 11153 Beach Blvd., where poultry, lambs, goats and cows were to be processed in accordance with Islamic dietary laws.
The proposal had drawn sharp criticism from animal rights activists and from nearby residents, who expressed concerns with potential health risks and noise pollution.
“Our recent request to add animal processing came from a sincere desire to meet the growing need for fresh, affordable halal meat for our brothers and sisters in faith. We believed this would be a way to better serve those who rely on us,” Faisal said in the statement.
“However, we have listened closely to the concerns of our neighbors. Out of respect for our community, we have decided to withdraw the request for animal processing at Apna Bazar. Your voices matter to us because this community is the heart of everything we do.”
Faisal said there remained a need for local processing of halal food and that Apna Bazar would continue to search for a location.
Apna Bazar’s request was set to appear before the Jacksonville City Council Land Use and Zoning Committee on Nov. 18 and the full Council a week later. The store requested a rezoning and a land use amendment for the processing operation.
On Nov. 6, the Jacksonville Planning Commission recommended approval of the land use amendment but failed to reach a decision on the rezoning. The commission voted 3-3, with Commissioner Ali Marar abstaining and Commissioner Moné Holder absent, on rezoning from Residential Low Density and Community/General Commercial to Planned Unit Development.
A PUD allows uses, regulations and standards tailored to a property.
During a community hearing near the proposed development and at the Planning Commission, Apna Bazar’s representatives attempted to assuage concerns that the slaughterhouse could present health risks.
“This facility, really, is trying to be sensitive to the needs of the community and provide a service that doesn’t exist,” said land use attorney Cyndy Trimmer, who represented Faisal for the project, said to the Planning Commission.
“The request that’s before you today is to facilitate the expansion of that center, to offer more commercial opportunities that are focused on the needs of this community, and to provide a much-needed service in terms of having a whole new processing facility on-site.”
Trimmer and others representing the grocer said the facility would not generate contamination, pollution or excessive noise. They said a U.S. Department of Agriculture employee would be on-site at all times to ensure the facility was kept sanitary and that all processed animals were fit for consumption.
Islamic dietary laws include restrictions on the process of slaughtering the animal, who can do it and the type of meat that can be processed.
In addition, representatives said the facility would include cleaning systems and heavily insulated walls, keeping sound and odors from escaping the building.
Residents near the proposed slaughterhouse, many on Cortez Road, expressed distrust in the grocer’s claims that the designed system would cause no harm to the neighborhood.
“I’m concerned about being contaminated. Like somebody was saying earlier, when the animals are being shipped in, how are they going to contain the smells coming from these trucks with the animals coming in, or anything else that’s going to fly out of these trucks with animals in it,” said Rebeka Moran, a Cortez Road resident, during the commission meeting.
The expansion would have included new storefronts attached to Apna Bazar. The site currently has a barber, doctor, grocery store, food court and more.
The proposal was Apna Bazar’s second attempt at a Jacksonville slaughterhouse. A previous attempt on a property in Northwest Jacksonville also was withdrawn after protest from neighbors and animal rights activists, from both in and outside Jacksonville.
Those plans called for a 25,000-square-foot processing facility at 7709 Woodley Road, west of New Kings Road.