Signatures Collected by Doctors' Organization in Neighborhoods Surrounding Proposed Site Reveal Enough Opposition to Trigger Referendum on Covance Proposal
CHANDLER, Ariz.—More
than 1,300 Chandler residents
in neighborhoods surrounding
the site of a proposed Covance
animal-testing facility on
Price Road have signed statements
of opposition to the project.
The statements of opposition,
which are being circulated
by the Physicians Committee
for Responsible Medicine (PCRM),
highlight the animal cruelty
issues and public health concerns
raised by the proposed 591,000-square-foot
Covance facility, which may
include an incinerator to dispose
of toxic animal carcasses.
All signatures were collected
within three miles of the Price
Road location.
The number of signatures indicates
enough local opposition to
trigger a referendum after
a formal petition process.
Covance, a New Jersey-based
company that tests cosmetic
ingredients, food additives,
pesticides, and drugs on monkeys,
dogs, cats, and other animals,
is seeking approval from the
city council for a zoning change
that would allow the company
to build on a 38-acre site
on Price Road. Under Arizona
law, 10 percent of the number
of electors who participated
in the last election in a city
may propose a referendum on
zoning changes. Based on Chandler’s
most recent election in May,
about 1,260 signatures would
be required to place a referendum
opposing zoning approval for
the Covance project on the
ballot.