NEWTON, Texas — The Newton City Council voted 6-0 to approve an ordinance that will allow the city to ban slaughter houses.
City officials in Newton received heat after conversations of a meat processing plant possibly coming to the area began weeks ago.
Monday's meeting agenda included discussing an ordinance that would allow the City of Newton to "restrain, abate, prohibit, direct the location of or regulate the management or construction of" slaughter establishments and similar businesses.
Monday's meeting began with prayer, and the council heard from citizens about why they think bringing a slaughter house to town would be a bad idea.
Since May, Heather Foster has been involved in the conversations with the city over the concept of a potential meat processing plant coming to the area.
"We have been against this idea, we don't think it's a good fit for Newton County," said Foster. "Everyone was trying to say it was a rumor, but we were hearing otherwise. We were hearing from people behind the scenes that this was true."
Residents gathered almost a month ago, on May 13, at a city council meeting to express concern.
"The risks of that going into our ground water was just greater than any opportunity a slaughter house could bring to our area," Foster told 12News on Monday.
The ordinance approved allows the city to ban an establishment if the health, comfort and convenience of the residents is impacted.
Mayor Mark Bean said it was an easy decision for the council to make.
"Just because we are in a dire need of these things, does not mean we have to reach and grab the first straw," Bean said.
Last month, Bean told 12News the city had not received any requests or information regarding a meat processing plant or slaughter house coming into the area.
He said he does want growth for the city and agrees that a potential business would bring jobs and revenue.
"We do need industrial here. We need jobs for our kids, and all our kids have to leave town to work someplace else," Bean said last month. "We do need something here, but we want to make it work for our community."
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 12NewsNow app.
Have a news tip? Email 12news@12newsnow.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter.