Residents Have Ax to Grind Over Flour Mill

The fight over the proposed flour mill that would sit some 300 feet from a West Fullerton neighborhood will continue.

Residents, angry over the Planning Commission’s decision to approve the project, filed an appeal Thursday and a public hearing now will be scheduled before the City Council.

Commissioners cast a unanimous vote late Wednesday to allow Omaha, Neb.-based ConAgra Inc. to erect the flour mill at its former Hunt-Wesson cannery, next to the Fullerton Municipal Airport. The commissioners said they didn’t particularly like the project, but that it meets city and state requirements.

The project calls for 16 concrete silos that will stand taller than 100 feet, and the 129-foot-high mill.

Residents contend the silos will be an eyesore and fear the mill will pollute the air, cause their home values to fall and generate noise and an odor.

“We’re not concerned, we’re mad,” said Eric Gier, who lives near the site. “They need to do this some place else--not near a residential area.”

ConAgra officials said they would run a safe operation that would produce less dust than what’s generated from traffic on a busy street. They said the mill will provide 20 jobs as well as contract maintenance work and transportation services.