The Suffield zoning board held a public hearing Wednesday night on the proposed biodiesel plant, and according to the Courant, it was a contentious affair:
Members of the company’s team proceeded to spend nearly three hours outlining the site plan and the process of turning vegetable oil into biodiesel. The company plans to sell the cleaner-burning, renewable fuel as heating oil and fuel for diesel engines.
More than 300 people attended Wednesday’s meeting, which marked the zoning and planning commission’s first public hearing on the project. But by 9:30 p.m., company officials were still presenting plans, and some residents left with their questions unanswered and their concerns unaired.[...]
The zoning and planning commission, which must ultimately decide whether the plant meets the zoning regulations for 18 acres of light-industrial land not far from Bradley International Airport, was expected to end Wednesday’s meeting at midnight. About 40 residents had signed up to speak against the plant, and nearly 20 had signed up to speak in favor of it.
The commission plans to hold another public hearing on the project next month.
It’s also worth noting the comments posted at Topix in response to the story. For example:
If Suffield doesn’t want it, send it down the river to us! We’d love more business’s in town to off set our property tax. I don’t want our town to become a bedroom community of Hartford, where all the taxes are paid by yours truly, Joe Homeowner. Without an industrial base Suffield will keep building of more McMansions for the workers of Springfield & HTFD. If you thought your property tax is high now, wait it can only go one way with this kind of attitude.
I am apparently not alone in thinking that if Suffield doesn’t want the plan, I’d be willing to see it in my town.