A permit for a specialty meat shop — one that’s opposed by Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach — is expected to be the big draw at the Douglas County Commission meeting Wednesday.

Brian Strecker, a well-known Lawrence chef who ran the kitchen at Pachamamas for 13 years, would like to build a 640 square-foot building, called The Burning Barrel, on 30 acres to process already slaughtered and disemboweled hogs and beef in northern Douglas County.

The shop would be located at 292 N. 2100 Road, about four miles west of Lecompton, and would use locally raised animals to make hams, sausages and other cuts of meats. The business would provide employment for up to four people.

Strecker told the commission he would not process more than four hogs a week.

The shop has raised the ire of some Lecompton residents and neighbors. They fear that obnoxious odors comparable to a hog-processing plant or rendering plant would permeate the area and that truck traffic would crowd the highway. They also raised concerns that the business might expand in the future.

Kobach, who owns 160 acres and a one-bedroom home nearby, is one of the leading opponents of the business. Kobach is not a resident of the area. He has said “the hog processing plant” would ruin the bucolic beauty of the area and is a “dramatic alteration to the county’s comprehensive plan.”

The Douglas County Planning Commission voted 6 to 2 on July 22 to send the conditional use permit to the Douglas County Commission for final approval.

Planning Commissioner Eric Struckhoff, who voted for the permit, said the concerns of residents are always important but that in this case they were “overblown.”

“Unfortunately, it looks like these concerns are being blown out of proportion,” Struckhoff said. “Comments about this being a hog-processing plant is overblown. One commenter described this as a dramatic alteration to the county’s comprehensive plan. That is not true. This is exactly what our comprehensive plan envisions when it contemplates the concept of value-added agriculture in our county.”

The smoking process will be indoors, and the meats will be cooked at low temperatures, Strecker told the Planning Commission.

The permit prohibits any odors from crossing property boundaries, and the commission at the end of the meeting restricted truck traffic to and from the property even further, allowing only two truck trips per week instead of two a day. It also prohibits retail sales of the meat.

Planning Commissioner Rob Sands, who voted against the permit, said he was concerned there was no data to show that there would not be odors. And he said residents remain concerned that the business will expand even though the permit prohibits that from happening.

“Everybody there voiced concern about additional truck traffic,” he said.

The Burning Barrel will be comparable to a similar meat-processing store in Lawrence: Hank Charcuterie, which is located at 1900 Massachusetts St., said Vaughn Good, owner of Hank Charcuterie.

Good, who sells meat both retail and commercially, said he had never had any complaints about odors even though he has an outdoor smoker. The Lawrence Police Department said that since the business opened last year, it had not received any complaints.

Douglas County commissioners Jim Flory and Nancy Thellman would not comment for this story, saying they would wait for the meeting a 6 p.m. Wednesday, at 1100 Massachusetts St., to discuss the matter.

Thellman said she expected a large turnout.

“A lot of correspondence has been pouring in,” she said. “I suspect we will have a full house and lots of comment from both the applicant, his supporters and folks who are in opposition.”