I gotta hand it to them, it seems WF found a way around the petition;
Wholestone Farms plans to open a custom butcher shop at the location planned for its future pork processing plant — before a November election that could prohibit the company from expanding here.
Construction is starting “imminently” on the shop, which will be located on the 170-acre property in northeast Sioux Falls near Benson Road and Interstate 229, near Gage Brothers Concrete Materials.
Butchering will begin there before a November election, when a proposed ordinance expected to be placed on the ballot could lead to meat processing plants being prohibited within the city limits.
By having an operating processing plant before the election means that the petition, if passed, cannot STOP Wholestone from expanding;
As you can see from the petition language, if a processing plant is operating in Sioux Falls before the ordinance is passed, it can expand, which means nothing would be stopping WF from building the bigger facility hooked to the existing butcher shop.
In a statement, Robert Peterson, treasurer of the Smart Growth Sioux Falls campaign, said: “This smells like a hastily concocted attempt to thwart the will of over 10,000 concerned citizens of Sioux Falls who believe the city voters should have a say on any future slaughterhouses in Sioux Falls.”
It kinda smells like you just got punked!