CLAREMONT — The owner of rental property abutting the site of a proposed slaughterhouse on Sullivan Street is asking a Superior Court judge to order the Zoning Board of Adjustment to hear his appeal of a variance the board approved for Granite State Packing, a meat processing plant.

Brian Gobin, who lives on Maple Avenue and is representing himself, filed the appeal in Hillsborough Superior Court on March 29, after the board unanimously denied his request for a rehearing earlier that month.

In his appeal, Gobin, asks the court to consider all the facts, including “proximity of my house, the technical errors, and the proven increases in violent crimes.”

The zoning board deliberated for less than 10 minutes before unanimously approving the variance for the project in early January.

Granite State, which currently operates a meat processing facility at 471 Sullivan St., proposes to slaughter 250 pigs a week. The variance is required because slaughterhouses are not a permitted use in the industrial district. Slaughtering would take place inside a newly constructed building, although the business still needs site plan approval from the Planning Board before it could begin construction.

Ahead of the board’s approval in January, opponents argued that the proximity to the airport — which sits across the street — violates Federal Aviation Administration regulations and a slaughterhouse would attract rodents, and bring odor and waste. Meanwhile, supporters said the operation would help further the state’s goal of increasing the local food supply.

Attempts to reach Gobin this week were not successful.

In his March court filing, Gobin asserts that the board made two technical errors in its decision-making process.

He said one member who voted for the variance and the rehearing denial has a conflict because they raise birds for slaughter. He also asserts a second technical error occurred when he said then-City Manager Yoshi Manale told a resident the “slaughterhouse was a done deal” prior to the variance being approved.

“The city manager’s statement indicates that the ZBA had already decided to approve the variance prior to any public hearing,” Gobin said in his filing.

Manale, who was fired by the City Council last month, denied making that statement in a Valley News interview prior to the rehearing request before the ZBA in March.

Gobin’s other claims include that the board did not consider a petition by 139 residents opposed to a slaughterhouse, the “ample evidence stating that slaughterhouse operations actually decrease the value of neighboring properties” and the presentation by opponents of research papers alleging slaughterhouses lead to an increase in violent crimes in the host community.

“The slaughterhouse would decrease the value of my property at 445 Sullivan St., being only 300 feet from the slaughterhouse building and not the 1,000 feet required by Claremont City Code,” the appeal states.

Granite State’s Peter Colman told the ZBA in January he had spoken to similar sized slaughterhouses in Vermont and New Hampshire and none reported lower property values or increased crime.

A “hearing on the merits” of Gobin’s appeal has been scheduled for July.

Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.