7/2/07   -   LAWSUIT FILED AGAINST CITY OF CHANDLER
 

CHANDLER, Ariz. — In a lawsuit filed today in Maricopa County Superior Court against the city of Chandler, seven city residents and the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) accuse city officials of violating the Arizona Open Meeting Act and city ordinances in allowing Covance Laboratories to build an animal experimentation facility in the Chandler Airpark. PCRM is suing on behalf of its Chandler members.

The lawsuit asks the court to void the building permit and rezoning that enabled Covance to break ground recently on a 300,000-square-foot facility planned for the southwest corner of Gilbert and Ryan roads. The seven local plaintiffs, most of whom live within a mile of the construction site, are concerned about Covance’s poor record on public health and animal welfare issues. The legal complaint notes that Covance has repeatedly imported primates infected with tuberculosis, Ebola, and other dangerous diseases. Covance has also refused to describe how it will safely dispose of the nearly 100,000 drug- and chemical-laden animal carcasses it will generate each year.

“Covance’s animal experimentation facility could expose Chandler residents to hazards ranging from infectious diseases to air and water pollution,” says Dan Kinburn, Esq., PCRM’s general counsel. “Instead of protecting Chandler from these health risks, city officials illegally collaborated with Covance to keep citizens in the dark and out of the decision-making process.”

The complaint includes the following allegations:

• City of Chandler officials participated in non-public meetings about Covance in which they discussed Covance’s plan to secretly abandon its original building site in favor of the rezoned Airpark property in violation of Arizona’s Open Meeting Law. Chandler officials deliberately withheld that critical information from Chandler residents while the Airpark rezoning was underway.
   

• In violation of state law and the Chandler City Code, Chandler failed to give proper notice of the Planning and Zoning Commission’s July 19, 2006, public hearing, and the City Council’s Introduction and Final Hearings, held on July 27, 2006, and August 10, 2006, respectively.
   

• The approval of the building permits by the city of Chandler was in violation of its own zoning ordinance because it appears that a huge percentage of Covance’s facility will be devoted to the operation of a kennel/veterinarian clinic. The Zoning Ordinance for the city of Chandler does not allow either of these uses within I-1, the zoning presently applicable to the Airpark Property.

         6/5/07   -   MAJORITY OF CHANDLER AGAINST COVANCE

Citizens Against Covance

Date:  June 5, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

        Majority of Chandler Residents Still Opposed To Covance

CHANDLER – Citizens Against Covance (CAC), a Chandler-based grass roots organization, announced Tuesday the updated results of their study of Covance-related emails sent to the City of Chandler.  Since this time last year, Chandler’s Mayor and City Council have received almost a thousand citizen emails regarding the Covance issue, the majority coming from Arizona residents.  Only a few dozen of these have been in support of the company building its proposed testing facility at the Chandler Airpark.  Through a standing Public Records request, CAC analyzed every feedback letter emailed to the city regarding Covance, the first one dating all the way back to August 9, 2005.  Even after weeding out the hundreds of out-of-state emails, the study shows that 87.1% of Chandler residents who weighed in on the issue are opposed to Covance. 

Citizens Against Covance first calculated Covance’s “approval rating” in November of 2006 using a similar study, showing that 86.1% of Chandler residents who emailed the city were against Covance.  “It’s ironic,” laughs CAC member Mike Boerman.  “Since November they’ve had all these neighborhood meetings and outreach attempts, and still Covance’s acceptance level by the community has not changed ….in fact, it’s gotten even worse!” 

The controversial contract lab Covance has been subject to intense opposition since the announcement of its plan to build a new facility in Chandler, near Gilbert Road & Queen Creek Road.  Most frustrating to residents is the company’s refusal to disclose how it will dispose of the 250,000 animal carcasses per year it’s estimated to test on.  Many neighbors have expressed fears over health and safety, as well as environmental concerns.  “I don’t want to live next to the only medical waste incinerator in Chandler,” complains Eleanor Weedon, who lives just ¼ mile from Covance’s proposed location, “and I don’t want to live next to trucks carting away dead animals to an offsite incinerator either.  What will this do to the property values?” 

The controversy heated up last year with the surprise announcement of Covance’s relocation to a 50-acre site at the Chandler Airpark, essentially circumventing not only the Planning & Zoning procedure and Council action, but skirting Chandler residents’ voices and their participation in the decision-making process. 

In August 2006, Covance’s new site at the Chandler Airpark was rezoned by its then owner First Industrial Realty Services, without the public being informed of Covance’s intentions to build there.  Since then, City Council members and staff have given vague and conflicting accounts on whether or not they were aware of Covance’s interest in the parcel when they voted unanimously to rezone the property.  “I think Chandler residents definitely should’ve been told about this ahead of time,” observes Apache Junction Councilman Richard Dietz, whose own City Council actually rescinded its rezoning decision on a property in late 2006, after reconsidering all the attributes of the project.  “The way the Covance rezoning was handled took all the decision-making power away from the people, where it belongs, and put it into the hands of politicians and big business.” 

For now, Boerman and other members of CAC are researching the rezoning for Covance’s new site, who at the city knew about it, and why the public was not informed.  As for why Covance is moving ahead with their building plans?  “I just don’t understand it,” wonders Boerman.  “The overwhelming majority of Chandler residents are against Covance.  Why would any company want to locate in a city where they are so clearly unwelcome?”

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[download a printable pdf version of our June 5, 2007 press release]

          6/1/07   -   CHANDLER ISSUES BUILDING PERMIT TO COVANCE

"Covance Builds Despite Ongoing Opposition"
by K. M. Lang, San Tan Sun News
 

Covance recently broke ground on the first phase of its 300,000-square foot drug testing facility at Chandler Airpark, but looming backhoes haven’t silenced the company’s local critics. According to Covance, construction will take two years at its site east of Chandler Airport near Gilbert and Queen Creek roads, and the finished facility will initially employ 300 to 400 workers.

Covance also announced it purchased 27 acres of undeveloped land directly east of its airpark property and sold a 38-acre parcel in the Price Corridor, which it obtained in 2005. “Most of the newly acquired land is zoned for commercial use, and brings the total size of Covance’s property at the airpark to 77 acres,” states Covance spokesperson Camilla J. Strongin. “Covance has no current development plans for this additional property.”

Covance’s presence in Chandler has been hotly protested by many area residents who take exception to the company’s animal-testing program and cite health, safety and environmental concerns. “Most frustrating to residents is the company’s refusal to disclose how it will dispose of the 250,000 animal carcasses per year it’s estimated to test on,” says Michael Boerman, a Southern Chandler resident and member of Citizens Against Covance (CAC). “I don’t want to live next to the only medical waste incinerator in Chandler, and I don’t want to live next to trucks carting away dead animals to an offsite incinerator either,” adds Eleanor Weedon, who lives a quarter-mile from Covance’s future facility.

For its part, Covance refers to its 50-year history and its “significant contributions to the development of life-saving and life-enhancing new medicines for HIV/AIDS, breast cancer, heart disease, leukemia, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, cystic fibrosis, deadly infections and many other disabling diseases.” The company operates in more than 20 countries and employs approximately 8,000 worldwide.

With all that, and despite neighborhood meetings and outreach attempts, Covance hasn’t managed to win the hearts of its new neighbors, says Boerman. CAC recently released the results of their study of Covance-related correspondence sent to the City by local residents. According to CAC, City Council members and Mayor Boyd Dunn received nearly a thousand emails since the controversy arose. “Only a few dozen of these have been in support of the company building its proposed testing facility at the Chandler Airpark,” says Boerman.

The study shows 87.1 percent of Chandler residents who weighed in on the issue are opposed to Covance. “I just don’t understand it,” adds Boerman. “The overwhelming majority of Chandler residents are against Covance. Why would any company want to locate in a city where they are so clearly unwelcome?”
 

          3/26/07   -   COVANCE FILES BUILDING PERMIT APPLICATION

On March 20, 2007 Covance officially filed their building permit application with the city of Chandler.  Covance intends to build a 288,472 sq ft facility at 2701 E Ryan Rd in Chandler. It's estimated to be a $44.8 million dollar project, and the proposed work schedule was given as
May 1, 2007 through May 1, 2009.  Want to express your outrage and dismay over the way the city of Chandler has welcomed them into town with open arms?  Click here to send an email to the Mayor & City Council, and write a Letter To The Editor of your local newspaper while you're at it.  What kind of city would want to attract such a risky, controversial company like Covance?  What kind of company would want to affiliate themselves with Covance by helping them build their new facility?  Here are the key construction and design firms, according to the plans submitted:



General Contractor = DPR Construction
   3020 E Camelback Rd #100
   Phoenix, AZ  85016
   phone 602-808-0500 x4516
   Project Manager = Derek Kirkland
   website www.dprinc.com

Architect = Reynolds, Smith, & Hills
   10748 Deerworld Park Blvd S
   Jacksonville, FL  32256
   phone 904-256-2500
   website www.rsandh.com

Mechanical Engineer = Affiliated Engineers SE Inc
   3007 SW Williston Rd
   Gainesville, FL  32608
   phone 352-376-5500
   website www.aeieng.com

Civil Engineer = Hoskin Ryan Consultants
   201 W Indian School Rd
   Phoenix, AZ  85013
   phone 602-252-8384
   website www.hoskinryan.com

Geotechnical Engineer = Alpha Geotechnical & Materials Inc
   5216 S 40th St
   Phoenix, AZ  85040
   phone 602-453-3265
 

         3/26/07   -   MARICOPA DEPT OF AIR QUALITY PERMIT HEARING

source = http://www.maricopa.gov/aq/EventsDetailPublishers.aspx?date=4/30/2007

         3/25/07   -   AN OPEN LETTER TO THE CITY OF CHANDLER

          3/21/07   -   MAKE A DONATION

We are proud to announce that our website is now able to take donations to help further the efforts of Citizens Against Covance.  Click here for more information and to read about some of the things CAC uses our funds for.  Special thanks to our friends at Just Fur Kids Store for donating this handsome "Peek-A-Prize" cat toy, to the first person who makes a donation of $50 or more.  Click here for more information on this product:

          2/23/07  -   CELEBRITIES SPEAK OUT ON COVANCE

One of the most successful female artists in the dance music industry is Amber, a woman who has racked up an astounding seven consecutive No. 1 dance singles on the Billboard Club chart, and an additional six Top 10 dance hits throughout her career.  Click the play button below (twice if necessary) to hear her encourage fans to check out our website! 



To visit Amber's official website, click here.




 

          1/29/07  -   COVANCE'S NEIGHBORHOOD MEETINGS

In an attempt to win support and change the minds of suspicious and unwelcoming residents, Covance held another Neighborhood Meeting on Monday, Jan 29 at the Chandler Airport.  See the 12/11/06 update below for reaction to an earlier meeting, plus a scan of the actual invitation.  As before, Covance spared no expense with the lavish furnishings promoting the event:

This hastily-assembled sign was posted on the corner of Airport Blvd and Ryan Rd, about 1/4 mile from the meeting's location in a remote, out-of-the-way corner of the Chandler Airport.  This picture was taken very early in the evening, while it was still somewhat light out.  Since residents could attend the Neighborhood Meeting as late as 7pm, most people driving by searching for the building undoubtedly would've missed the crude, handmade placard there in the dark.  A billion dollar company, and they don't have the money to spring for decent signs.  One wonders if this is merely the sloppy negligence and lack of preparedness Covance is famous for, or if perhaps something more sinister is at work.  Did Covance even want residents to be able to find the place?

If you attend one of these Covance Neighborhood Meetings yourself, here are some real questions to ask the Covance employees staffing the various information tables:

• Your literature indicates Covance is a drug development company.  Do you actually develop the drugs?

• What percentage of your testing is done on life-saving medications, and what percentage is done on vanity drugs, chemicals, cosmetic ingredients, pesticides, etc, etc?

• Do you still have contracts with Phillip Morris?  If so, what kind of work do you do for them?  Are animals still subjected to smoke and tobacco?

• Have there been any more outbreaks of tuberculosis in the Madison facility?

• Should an outbreak of a new pathogen occur at a Chandler facility, what contingency plans does Covance have to deal with such a situation?

• What kind of work does Covance do that it requires a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission?

• Are you going to have an incinerator?  If no, is this decision final?  How will you dispose of the animal corpses?

• How many animals per year will this facility go through?

• Does Covance still have contracts with the US Dept of Defense?  If so, what kind of work do you do for them?

• How many lawyers does Covance have on retainer in Arizona?

• Will you be using the Chandler Airport to receive and ship animals?  Will the proposed runway extension make it easier for Covance's corporate jets to use the airport for travel?

• How many dogs does Covance breed and sell for use in experiments?

• Will human studies be performed at the Chandler facility?
  
   

          1/26/07  -   COMMUNITY ADVISORY PANEL

Covance Names Advisory Panel

by Edythe Jensen, The Arizona Republic
January 26, 2007
 

Covance released the makeup of its Chandler Community Advisory Panel on Thursday, two weeks after the hand-picked group held its first meeting.  The drug development firm promised to form the panel as a vehicle for getting resident input.  Meetings are not open to the public, company spokeswoman Camilla Strongin said.

The 12 charter members represent a cross section of neighborhood, business and scientific interests, and the company wants to add five or six more with varied backgrounds, Strongin said.

Kathy Brown Keirsted's name isn't on the list, and that doesn't surprise her. The Chandler resident and member of Citizens Against Covance said she applied but was rejected because of her attendance at the opposition's meetings.  Strongin said earlier that that the committee's membership would be balanced but would not include anyone who is opposed to animal testing.

Listed as committee members are Chandler Assistant City Manager Pat McDermott, former City Council candidate Chris Stage, and Linda Wegener of Tempe, a microbiologist and member of the Chandler Chamber of Commerce.  Also in the group are Queen Creek veterinarian Tim Martin and Covance representative Nancy Centanni of Madison, Wis.

Three men who live in neighborhoods adjoining the Covance site are in the group: George Macedon, Michael Mason and Walter Wright.  Other Chandler residents on the list are Gordon Benson, Kewei Chen, William Crawford and J. Patrick McDonnell.

source = http://www.azcentral.com/community/chandler/articles/0126cr-advisory0126Z6.html

         1/17/07  - THE ROCKEFELLER GROUP

Business Park To Neighbor Covance

by Luci Scott and Edythe Jensen, The Arizona Republic
January 17, 2007

 

A big-name investment group with plans for a business park has snapped up 76.6 acres next to the future Covance site.  City officials say the land deal at Queen Creek and Gilbert roads, made public last week, is a sign that the drug development giant is attracting national interest - and investment dollars - to Chandler.

The buyer is Rockefeller Group Development Corp., once controlled by the well-known New York political family that included former U.S. Vice President Nelson Rockefeller. Now owned by Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Estate Co., the buyer paid $21.4 million cash for the site under the name Rock-Queen Creek, LLC. This is the group's first buy in the Phoenix area, spokesman Brian Mahoney said.
                                                   
Covance had previously planned to build on 38 acres on Price Road, but the site required rezoning and opponents had threatened a referendum. The most vocal have been animal rights activists who object to the company's treatment of animals used in drug tests.

Camilla Strongin, Phoenix spokeswoman for Covance, said it's still too early to know if the Rockefeller development will be home to bioscience companies that use Covance's services. However, she and Mackay say interest in Chandler land from a company like the Rockefeller group would likely never happen had Covance not decided to build there.

       --------

[Italics ours, click here for full article]  The only problem with this conclusion?  The Rockefeller Group purchased this land on 8-8-06, a full two months before Covance announced they were
even interested in moving to their new site!  Rockefeller's deed purchasing the property was recorded almost four months before Covance's deed.  Yet another example of city staff and PR
reps stretching the truth to try and manipulate public opinion in favor of Covance.

         1/11/07  -  CITY COUNCIL DISCUSSION ON REZONING

The discussion between Council members and city staff during the January 11, 2007 Council meeting revealed a great deal in how Covance's rezoning decision was kept secret from the public.  You can view the streaming video on the City of Chandler website yourself by clicking here, and fast-forward to 1 hr, 49 min, 25 seconds into the video (high-speed internet connection is recommended).  We have also transcribed the conversation; it can be viewed in its entirety by clicking here.  During a scheduled public appearance, Chandler resident Mike Boerman pointedly asked the Council if they knew of Covance's interest in the new site when they unanimously voted to approve its rezoning in August of 2006. 

Only two of the six Councilmembers present were able to give a clear, direct answer of "no" to this question.  One Councilmember admitted he knew Covance was potentially interested in this land, among 30 other sites in the Valley; another Councilmember stated he was told of a meeting between the developer and Covance.  The seventh city Councilmember, not present during this portion of the meeting, has admitted (in writing) that "...the City Manager made us all aware that Covance was interested in the airport property."  So then the million-dollar question
(pun definitely intended) is: when our Council voted unanimously to rezone the site, shouldn't it have occurred to them who the end-user might be?

In fact, the zoning of Covance's new site is rather unique.  Out of the previous 100 rezoning cases presented to the Council, only one was approved without a detailed PDP (Preliminary Development Plan).  Want to guess which one that was?  Ninety-nine other rezoning cases, spanning from 2004 to 2006, required more than just a basic administrative-level review.  Why was the new Covance site given rezoning without a comprehensive PDP submittal?  Should the public have been informed of Covance's interest in this parcel of land, when it was put up for a rezoning vote?  Did the then-current owner First Industrial Realty Trust deliberately withhold this information from the City Council when applying for the rezoning?  Did city staff work with First Industrial to help facilitate this land transaction?  These are the types of pointed questions Chandler officials don't want people to ask.  Send them an email, and demand some answers.

         1/7/07  -  COVANCE INTERNAL DOCUMENTS

Fellow anti-Covance activists in the city of Manchester, Germany obtained photographs, video, and other evidence of abuses in one of Covance's international facilities.  They created a website called Covance Undercover, which Covance fought to shut down in 2004.  Among the internal documents posted is a list of Covance's clients, along with corporate numbers and countries of origin.  Covance claims they are a leading provider of "medical research" services; however, many of their clients appear to have no ties to medicine.  Covance's client list includes companies like RJ Reynolds Tobacco, Goodyear Tire & Rubber, Dupont Agricultural Products, L'Oreal (cosmetics), Bass Breweries (beer), Mobil (petroleum products), FMC Corporation (insecticides), Penford Products (paper industry), and Rohm & Haas (chemicals for paint, adhesives, electronic devices, and retail food products).
 

         12/30/06  - APACHE JUNCTION  CITY COUNCIL RE-RE-ZONING

Apache Junction Cancels OK For Extended-Stay Hotel:
Value Place Must Re-Start Zoning Or Build Elsewhere

By Art Martori, The Tribune, Mesa, Ariz. McClatchy-Tribune Business News



Dec. 30 -- The Apache Junction City Council in a special meeting Friday overturned an earlier decision to allow an extended-stay hotel in the city.

Councilman Richard Dietz called for the meeting, at which the City Council voted to rescind its own re-zoning decision, requiring the developer of the Value Place hotel to restart the zoning process, or to build the hotel elsewhere. The City Council on Dec. 5 voted to re-zone roughly two acres near the Tomahawk Road exit off U.S. 60 to allow construction of a four-story, 121-unit hotel.

Council members objected to the low-budget approach of Value Place and said they were concerned it might become run-down and a haven for criminals. Donald Rich, of BHG Development Company, told the council members that cost-effectiveness was the reason the Value Place franchise was successful.  "That's the premise of how we operate," he said. "And it works."

Value Place operates 25 hotels in 13 states and has 75 more locations planned to open across the country. The hotels typically don't offer amenities such as a restaurant, fitness center or a pool. Dietz -- who reversed a vote he cast at the meeting earlier this month -- said he called police officials in Wichita, Kan., to see if the Value Place in that city attracted crime. "They have the highest rate of burglary, prostitution, calls like that," Dietz said.

Councilman Kris Sippel said he was concerned about a proposed 45-foot-tall sign at Value Place that would flash an animated message to traffic on U.S. 60. Rich said after the meeting he wasn't sure if he would still try to build a Value Place in Apache Junction. "I don't know. We've got 16 acres," he said. "We've got to do something with it."

Councilman Joseph Severs issued a statement after the meeting, expressing his disappointment that the City Council hindered development.  "I am ashamed to be on the same Council as some of you, the ones who truly don't care about our citizens," he said. "To deny this project after these people have addressed every single concern we had just makes you look stupid."

Copyright (c) 2006, The Tribune, Mesa, Ariz.
 

   -----

[Italics ours, click here for full article]  Today Apache Junction, tomorrow Chandler?  All the more reason to email the city of Chandler Mayor and City Council to let them know you care about the health, safety, and reputation of Chandler.  Ask them to reconsider their stance on allowing Covance to build.  Is it possible for them to retract the rezoning decision on Covance's new land site and allow a referendum after all?  These are some tough questions, and they deserve some real answers.  The citizens of Chandler must not be left out of the decision making process.


 

         12/21/06  -  INCINERATOR UPDATE

     Covance Won't Build Its Own Incinerator
by Edythe Jensen
The Arizona Republic
Dec. 21, 2006 03:07 PM

Covance, Inc., a biotech firm that uses animals in drug testing, said Thursday it will not build an incinerator at its Chandler site. An incinerator to dispose of animal carcasses would have required county and city permits and a public vote. Some residents have spoken out against it. "Based on business and economic factors as well as community input, Covance will be looking at existing licensed waste disposal providers who have the expertise in handling this waste," Covance spokeswoman Camilla Strongin said in a statement. She said the company has not decided which provider it will use.

     [source = Arizona Republic newspaper]


     Official Statement From Covance

"I would like to inform you that Covance has made a decision to pursue another alternative to an
onsite incinerator in handling waste disposal for its new facility in Chandler, Arizona. While
we feel confident that an incinerator would be appropriate at the Chandler facility as its use
of incinerators at other locations have (sic) consistently met or exceeded local, state, and federal
regulations; based on business and economic factors as well as community input, Covance will be
looking at existing licensed waste disposal providers who have the expertise in handling this
waste. As you already know, Covance has previously stated that it was considering various
options of waste disposal, including using licensed third-party vendors experienced with disposal,
or other new alternative technologies. No decision has been made on the specific provider or providers Covance will be using, but they will be required to meet all applicable environmental standards."

          [source = 12-21-06 email to the city of Chandler from Covance via their local PR firm]

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