July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Back where they began (04/25/07)
Jay County Planning Commission
By By MARY ANN LEWIS-
After waiting for nearly six months to see what a Ball State University study might suggest to ease concerns about the county's rapidly growing livestock industry, Jay County Planning Commission members decided a proposal they made earlier was the place to start ... again.
The construction of concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) and confined feeding operations (CFOs) has been a concern to rural residents in the past couple of years and the planning commission had a proposal changing some regulations, ready for Jay County Commissioners, approval when the Ball State study was proposed.
Following that September meeting, commission president Jim Zimmerman met with commissioners and instead of asking for them to accept the additional regulations, he asked them to wait to see what suggestions the study might include.
But following a lengthy meeting Tuesday night, commission members agreed to recommend the original proposal for adoption as a place to start.
According to commission attorney, Bill Hinkle, another public hearing is needed and is set for May 10, at 8 p.m. in the auditorium of the courthouse. The proposal is then expected to be presented to commissioners for final approval.
Eric Kelly, Ph.D., a professor of urban planning and acting chair of the Department of Urban Planning at Ball State, spoke to commission members Tuesday night.
"There is no perfect plan," he said, praising the county for regulations already in place, "but can you can improve on what you have now?"
Along with Kelly, Dick Heupel, director of Jay County Economic Development from 1986 to 1991, who is now employed in Ball State's Office of Building Better Communities, also addressed the commission.
"No one has studied this impact like this body has," Huepel said about the county's rapid CAFO growth.
A significant change Kelly suggested was zoning throughout the county.
"Split the agriculture zone into two zones," he said, explaining A-I as agriculture intensive where large animal operations would be located, and A-L, agriculture limited, where only grain farming would be found. It's worth looking at."
Many are concerned about animal farms already in operation and the resulting odor. Kelly said that issue cannot be effectively addressed right now, but said scientists are looking at anaerobic digesters that would eliminate the odor at the time the animals are fed.
"There is an impact," Kelly said about the affect on neighbors of CAFOs, "and it is negative. There are three variables: The size, the distance; and the property itself."
Commission members also expressed concern about large dairy operations coming into the county and said additional regulations should be adopted now to prevent unwanted situations.
"They're not here yet," commission member and county commissioner Gary Theurer said, "but they're coming."
"Big business will do lots of things as long as they know what the rules are," Kelly said about the additional rules and regulations. "The big operators are really writing the technology."
Kelly said Senate Bill 431 is currently under consideration and if it passes, could take some of the county's control away.
The main focus of Senate Bill 431 is to require that CFOs and CAFOs be constructed at least one mile from schools, health care facilities and local municipalities. The bill requires all feeding operations be annually inspected by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) and gives IDEM the ability to review all applications for a CAFO facility.
The county's proposed regulations will call for a 750-foot setback from any residence not owned by the operator, 1,250 feet from a church, business, school, commercial recreational area or any public building, and 1,550 from any residential subdivision.
The current setback from a residence is 500 feet and from a church or other public building is 1,000 feet.
Another change includes the operator file the plans as it will be presented to IDEM with the Jay/Portland Building and Planning Department as well. That is not currently requested, and Milligan said his department is usually uninformed about the exact location of a new structure.
These changes, along with all the regulations, will be discussed at the public hearing.
If that proposal is adopted, commission members said they would look at the recommendations from Kelly and could change the local regulations to make the additions.
"You have these tools at your disposal," Huepel said about the local regulations. "This might offer some new opportunities."[[In-content Ad]]With the prospect of southern Jay County becoming the setting for electric generating wind turbines, the Jay County Planning Commission Tuesday evening reviewed a wind farm zoning ordinance, governing the construction of such facilities.
"This is a new animal," Bill Milligan, administrator/director of the Jay/Portland Building and Planning Department told commission members about creating the ordinance.
Milligan said he had taken a "conglomeration" of other county ordinances to write the local ordinance.
A public hearing on the ordinance will be held May 10, at 8 p.m. in the auditorium of the Jay County Courthouse.
If the planning commission makes a recommendation, the ordinance will then be sent to Jay County Commissioners for final action.
According to the ordinance the approximate one-acre site where the turbines would be constructed would be zoned industrial.
Milligan also explained that if the site is abandoned at a future time, the turbine should be dismantled and the land would return to its original zoning designation.
Indiana Michigan Power and Clipper Windpower Development Inc., a California company, have both expressed serious interest in constructing wind farms in the southern part of the county - particularly in Pike and Jefferson townships.
I&M may be looking at putting up as many as 200 or 300 of the turbines in two areas of the state.
In addition to local regulations, requirements of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management Rule 5 will be required during construction.
That rule, created by the federal Clean Water Act, applies to construction activities that result in the disturbance of one or more acres of land. If a developer or project site owner disturbs one or more acres of land, the project site owner must apply for coverage under a Rule 5 general stormwater permit.
"This is an all new area for all of us. I don't think anyone in this room are experts," commission member John Knipp said about the possible construction. "We just have to have a little trust in the project."
The construction of concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) and confined feeding operations (CFOs) has been a concern to rural residents in the past couple of years and the planning commission had a proposal changing some regulations, ready for Jay County Commissioners, approval when the Ball State study was proposed.
Following that September meeting, commission president Jim Zimmerman met with commissioners and instead of asking for them to accept the additional regulations, he asked them to wait to see what suggestions the study might include.
But following a lengthy meeting Tuesday night, commission members agreed to recommend the original proposal for adoption as a place to start.
According to commission attorney, Bill Hinkle, another public hearing is needed and is set for May 10, at 8 p.m. in the auditorium of the courthouse. The proposal is then expected to be presented to commissioners for final approval.
Eric Kelly, Ph.D., a professor of urban planning and acting chair of the Department of Urban Planning at Ball State, spoke to commission members Tuesday night.
"There is no perfect plan," he said, praising the county for regulations already in place, "but can you can improve on what you have now?"
Along with Kelly, Dick Heupel, director of Jay County Economic Development from 1986 to 1991, who is now employed in Ball State's Office of Building Better Communities, also addressed the commission.
"No one has studied this impact like this body has," Huepel said about the county's rapid CAFO growth.
A significant change Kelly suggested was zoning throughout the county.
"Split the agriculture zone into two zones," he said, explaining A-I as agriculture intensive where large animal operations would be located, and A-L, agriculture limited, where only grain farming would be found. It's worth looking at."
Many are concerned about animal farms already in operation and the resulting odor. Kelly said that issue cannot be effectively addressed right now, but said scientists are looking at anaerobic digesters that would eliminate the odor at the time the animals are fed.
"There is an impact," Kelly said about the affect on neighbors of CAFOs, "and it is negative. There are three variables: The size, the distance; and the property itself."
Commission members also expressed concern about large dairy operations coming into the county and said additional regulations should be adopted now to prevent unwanted situations.
"They're not here yet," commission member and county commissioner Gary Theurer said, "but they're coming."
"Big business will do lots of things as long as they know what the rules are," Kelly said about the additional rules and regulations. "The big operators are really writing the technology."
Kelly said Senate Bill 431 is currently under consideration and if it passes, could take some of the county's control away.
The main focus of Senate Bill 431 is to require that CFOs and CAFOs be constructed at least one mile from schools, health care facilities and local municipalities. The bill requires all feeding operations be annually inspected by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) and gives IDEM the ability to review all applications for a CAFO facility.
The county's proposed regulations will call for a 750-foot setback from any residence not owned by the operator, 1,250 feet from a church, business, school, commercial recreational area or any public building, and 1,550 from any residential subdivision.
The current setback from a residence is 500 feet and from a church or other public building is 1,000 feet.
Another change includes the operator file the plans as it will be presented to IDEM with the Jay/Portland Building and Planning Department as well. That is not currently requested, and Milligan said his department is usually uninformed about the exact location of a new structure.
These changes, along with all the regulations, will be discussed at the public hearing.
If that proposal is adopted, commission members said they would look at the recommendations from Kelly and could change the local regulations to make the additions.
"You have these tools at your disposal," Huepel said about the local regulations. "This might offer some new opportunities."[[In-content Ad]]With the prospect of southern Jay County becoming the setting for electric generating wind turbines, the Jay County Planning Commission Tuesday evening reviewed a wind farm zoning ordinance, governing the construction of such facilities.
"This is a new animal," Bill Milligan, administrator/director of the Jay/Portland Building and Planning Department told commission members about creating the ordinance.
Milligan said he had taken a "conglomeration" of other county ordinances to write the local ordinance.
A public hearing on the ordinance will be held May 10, at 8 p.m. in the auditorium of the Jay County Courthouse.
If the planning commission makes a recommendation, the ordinance will then be sent to Jay County Commissioners for final action.
According to the ordinance the approximate one-acre site where the turbines would be constructed would be zoned industrial.
Milligan also explained that if the site is abandoned at a future time, the turbine should be dismantled and the land would return to its original zoning designation.
Indiana Michigan Power and Clipper Windpower Development Inc., a California company, have both expressed serious interest in constructing wind farms in the southern part of the county - particularly in Pike and Jefferson townships.
I&M may be looking at putting up as many as 200 or 300 of the turbines in two areas of the state.
In addition to local regulations, requirements of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management Rule 5 will be required during construction.
That rule, created by the federal Clean Water Act, applies to construction activities that result in the disturbance of one or more acres of land. If a developer or project site owner disturbs one or more acres of land, the project site owner must apply for coverage under a Rule 5 general stormwater permit.
"This is an all new area for all of us. I don't think anyone in this room are experts," commission member John Knipp said about the possible construction. "We just have to have a little trust in the project."
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