Covance, opponents face costly standoff

The controversy surrounding a drug-testing laboratory’s planned move into Chandler will likely cost millions in legal fees and campaign costs.

Covance, a global contract lab company, and one of its adversaries, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, are positioned for a costly showdown as the company seeks a zoning change to build a facility in south Chandler.

Both have hired top-notch law firms, and both are prepared to sway not only the city in regards to the zoning change but the public’s perception of the company, which uses animals for drug and chemical testing.

Opponents have promised to launch a referendum drive if the City Council approves Covance’s rezoning request.

Both sides have acknowledged the council’s approval likely will go to voters because only about 1,300 signatures are required to force a referendum.

Based on similar campaigns he’s been involved in, Scottsdale political consultant Jason Rose said he’s confident Covance consultants would not have budgeted less than $300,000 to $400,000 for a public relations fight.

“And probably something in the range of $500,000 to $750,000 with the potential for $1 million-plus,” he said.

While not involved with the Covance issue, Rose has worked on several high-profile campaigns including the hotly contested 1999 bid to turn Scottsdale’s Los Arcos Mall into a hockey arena and convention center.

He was on the side that supported the plan, which spent $1.3 million, he said.

Covance requested last month to rezone a 38-acre parcel purchased last summer near Price and Germann roads to make way for a 591,000-square-foot contract laboratory.

Neighborhood meetings and public hearings required for the rezoning request probably will begin in October, city officials said.

Covance has drawn intense heat from animal rights groups such as the Washington, D.C.-based Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine that claim the company abuses its animals.

Company officials have repeatedly denied those claims.

The nonprofit committee — which has taken in $7 million to $10 million in contributions and grants each of the past three years — doesn’t have a specific dollar figure in mind for its anti-Covance campaign, representatives said.

But, they say, the group will do whatever it takes.

“We’re prepared to keep Covance from building its animal-testing facility in Chandler the best way we can,” said Mindy Kursban, the group’s chief legal counsel in Washington, D.C.

The committee has gone so far as to list itself as “potentially affected citizens” with Chandler’s planning department, entitling the group to receive notice whenever Covance files anything associated with the zoning case.

It also has retained the Phoenix law firm Gallagher and Kennedy.

“That’s one of the top powerhouse firms in the state,” Rose said.

Covance hired attorney Ralph Pew, of Pew & Lake, a well-known land-use and zoning firm in Mesa, spokeswoman Camilla Strongin said.

Company officials have not discussed just how much Covance is willing to spend to get the project through the zoning process as well as win a referendum if it comes to that, she said.

As for legal costs for the rezoning process, the average hourly fee for Valley land-use and zoning attorneys runs $200 to $250, according to the State Bar of Arizona.

But legal fees in this fight are likely to run higher than average, Rose said.

“Ralph isn’t cheap, and Ralph’s zoning fees on this would probably run $50,000 to $100,000,” said Rose, who has worked with him. “That would be my guess.”

In addition to the legal team, Covance about year ago hired the politically connected public relations and lobbying firm Symington Group, which is made up of former Gov. Fife Symington, John Regan, a former staffer for Sen. Jon Kyl, and Strongin, a well-known spokeswoman in the Valley.

Before Covance even filed a rezoning request, both sides had direct mailers sent to tens of thousands of Chandler residents advocating their side of the debate.

Covance officials have met with city staffers, City Council members and Chandler business leaders to discuss details and help smooth the company’s way.

Besides Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has promoted a worldwide e-mail campaign that has inundated city officials with messages opposing Covance’s plans.

The group also staged the first public protest against the project nearly a year ago.

Since then, a local group, Citizens Against Covance, has organized a handful of protests in downtown Chandler.

The physicians group also has offered, via its Web site, free “Say No to Covance” yard signs that have popped up on city street corners and along roadways.