'Just a consistent violation': Mount Prospect seeks injunction to halt odors from feed producer
Mount Prospect is taking steps to close down an animal feed production operation until it can control the odors that have upset neighbors for four years.
The village is seeking an injunction against Prestige Feed Products, 431 N. Lakeview Court, in the Kensington Business Center.
The village is awaiting a hearing date in Cook County circuit court.
Prestige has already taken legal action against the village to prevent it from closing the business.
The village and the feed manufacturer reached an agreement that would allow Prestige to operate at night. Under the agreement, Prestige would have odor-eliminating equipment in place by October.
But Mount Prospect Village Manager Michael Cassady said the neighbors' complaints about the odor, which has been compared to burnt cheese, have not subsided.
"There appears to be no ability for Prestige to contain the odors to their property. It's just a consistent violation of our zoning ordinance standards," Cassady said. "We're certainly hearing about it from nearby residents and business owners."
With an injunction, the hope, he said, is that Prestige will cease operations until it can contain the smell.
When contacted by phone on Tuesday, Prestige's attorney declined to comment.
Meanwhile, neighbors across the street like Sargon Merza, who lives in Des Plaines and is president of the Longford Glen homeowners association, say they continue to be besieged by the odors.
He said he doesn't want to call it a "lost battle." But he added, "It seems like we complain to Mount Prospect, we call Des Plaines, and nothing gets done."
Merza said he has been monitoring Prestige's activities, adding that sound, as well as odor, is a problem.
"I drove there so many times at night," Merza said. "And I took pictures of it. And I videotaped it. And you can hear the sound so loud back there."
Another Des Plaines resident, Brian Wilk, said the smell is so overpowering that he cannot go outside at night.