BZA OK's livestock variances

Variances for agricultural expansions in Wabash and Noble townships were approved Thursday by the Jay County Board of Zoning Appeals.
The board OK’d variances for Dale Evers, 8260 East 800 North, Bryant, and Greg Broering, 8419 East 200 South, Portland, to expand cattle operations at both locations.
Evers is planning to build a new barn for heifers and expand a waste lagoon to handle the additional manure generated. Evers’ plan would have expanded the lagoon 20 feet to the east, approximately 375 feet away from a flood plain.
The lagoon would be expanded from about 900,000 gallons to around 1.2 million gallons. The setback requirement from a flood plain, which was increased by the Jay County Commissioners last year, is now 1,000 feet.
“I would like to expand my lagoon,” Evers said. “If I can’t expand it, I’d either need to cut back or do something else.”
Board president Carl Walker suggested that Evers alter his plan and instead of expanding to the east and moving 20 feet closer to the flood plain, that Evers elongate the lagoon and expand to the north about 27 feet to obtain the same volume.
Evers said that plan was acceptable to him.
“If that’s what you want, that’s what we can do,” Evers said. “I can be flexible.”
The board approved the variance for Evers to increase the lagoon size and build a new barn following its recommendations.
See BZA page 6
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The board also heard a variance request from Broering, who wants to expand his dairy operation by building a new milking parlor and lagoon near the rest of his operation.
“We’d work a lot closer and better at that location,” Broering said.
The expansion would put Broering in violation of setback requirements for two residences, one to the northeast and one to the northwest, as well as a commercially-zoned property owned by AmeriGas.
Bill Williamson, who owns the property to the northeast and rents it, objected to the new buildings since he and his wife felt it would devalue the rental or selling value of that property.
“We do not want to issue a variance because a neighbor objected,” Walker said.
The board then asked Broering if it would be possible to move the expansion to meet the 1,000-foot setback from Williamson’s property since the other two affected property owners did not object. Michael Bruns, an engineer from Mote and Associates who is designing the project for Broering, presented board members with a second set of drawings that met that request.
The board was satisfied with the second set of plans, except that board member Dennis Rodgers questioned the OK received from AmeriGas, since the form was signed by a sales manager and not an executive. Rodgers equated the situation to a renter signing off — although it might be OK with them, the owner is the one who should be making the decision.
The board denied Broering’s original variance request but accepted the amended request, contingent on a written OK from an executive at AmeriGas.[[In-content Ad]]