BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Rhino Foods has been trying to expand its business with a 65-thousand-square-foot addition, complete with new access parking and stormwater. It would consolidate their Burlington and Williston facilities and reduce the fuel their trucks use.
The certified B Corporation, which employs around 200 people, has been lauded in the community for being accepting, and hiring refugees, new Americans, and people in recovery.
Late last week, the state Natural Resources Board approved Rhino’s Act 250 application, meaning the project can proceed.
In a statement, Rhino Foods founder Ted Castle tells us, “…we are pleased that the Natural Resources Board approved our expansion project. We believe this will have a positive impact on the Burlington Community from numerous perspectives. “
The expansion is expected to add about 40 jobs to a key location on the South End of the city right near the Champlain Parkway, but still, some neighbors remain concerned about the impact.
‘We serve as the buffer for the rest of the neighborhood and it’s a little unfair in that regard,” said Burlington resident Derek Zipprich.
Nearby residents on Redrock Drive say they want to be good neighbors, but still have concerns about noise from trucks and the new facility facing west toward the neighborhood.
Over 100 neighbors signed a petition last year urging Rhino to work to mitigate its noise levels to stay below the World Health Organization’s levels of 55 decibels.
“This is a residential area here, there is light industrial, and there are not hard and fast definitions to differential between industrial and light industrial,” said Burlington resident Susan Mason Lazrev.
Under the permit, Rhino trucks will be required to mitigate noise, including eliminating backup alarms, shutting engines off while idling, and relocating equipment.
But in an Act 250 filing in response to the noise concerns, they say the other industrial sites in the area are contributing to the noise, and add their addition is projected to reduce noise.
Neighbors say they are still determining their next move, but they’d like to see Rhino take additional steps to address the problem.
