Neighbors expressed anger and fear at Tuesday night's town council meeting in North Branford, where 100 residents filled the room to protest plans for a 60,000-gallon propane storage facility on Circo Road.
"It would knock houses off their foundation within a half a mile," said Chris Kranick, of North Branford.
Concerned residents presented the council with a petition containing more than 1,000 signatures. The document demands that officials rescind a recent change in zoning regulations that allows for bulk storage of propane.
"What are you going to do to help us defeat this matter?" North Branford resident Tom Anastasia asked the council. "Because that's why we're here."
Some threatened to vote everyone out if the facility goes up, while others went so far as to suggest collusion between town leaders and the propane company.
But councilmembers say that's not the case and this is the first time they've had any involvement in the plans to build.
"We listened to the public tonight and just have to wait to do due diligence according to the charter. They presented their petition, so we at this point in time have to wait for the town attorney to give us his opinion and the town clerk to verify all the signatures and then we'll go from there," said Councilmember Rose Angeloni.
If the petition is verified and validated, officials will hold a meeting within 30 days to give the public opportunity to comment, according to the town attorney.
