Variance for county CFO denied (07/20/07)

The Jay County Board of Zoning Appeals has denied an Ohio man's request for a variance on setback regulations for a proposed confined animal feeding facility.

John Overman, Fort Recovery, filed for the variance earlier this summer when he was informed the proposed location of his building was positioned too close to a neighbor's residence.

Overman originally applied for a state livestock permit in October, when Jay County regulations required confined animal feeding operations to be at least 500 feet away from the nearest residence.

But before he received approval to begin construction, the setback was changed in May to 750 feet.

He told board members he should be "grandfathered in" under the old regulations based on when he originally applied for state permit. He said the variance should be considered based on the 500-foot setback, and not on the 750-foot limit.

The first filing that Overman made with Jay/Portland Building and Planning was the application for the variance in June.

"I met the conditions when I started this whole process," Overman said, adding that the building and planning department was informed by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management that he was interested in building the 4,000-head pig nursery.

"When I inquired about it, it was 500 feet, so that's what I had to go by," he said.

The proposed building would be located on county road 100 South, between county roads 500 East and 600 East in Noble Township.

The proposed location for the nursery was 477 feet from the closest adjoining property line, Overman said, but could be moved 500 feet away without further disrupting his plans.

He said that moving the building to the 750-foot setback would be a hardship.

The variance request was rejected based on criteria outlined in zoning laws, board member Carl Walker said. The building could be moved to a different part of the property to satisfy requirements without causing "unnecessary hardship" with respect to the property.

Also, board members said, the project is contrary to public interest, because three neighbors wrote letters opposing the facility's construction.

Overman begged to differ, saying he talked to neighbors and found only one voiced direct opposition to the project. He also said that moving from the original location to a different part of the property more than 270 feet further away would be costly.

"My unnecessary hardship is financing," Overman told the board.

Board President Dennis Rodgers said if Overman would have filed an intent to build application in October he likely would have been able to follow the old regulations.

"With the intent to build application, we probably would have had a different outlook today," Rodgers said.

Board member Steve Fennig said the decision to unanimously deny Overman's appeal was difficult, but rules must be followed.

"If we don't enforce the law, then no one will pay attention to the law," he said after the meeting's conclusion.

In other business, the board awarded a special exception for a Home Occupation Business Type Two permit for James Reedy for a plastics injection molding business located at 6301 South U.S. 27 in Pike Township.

The variance will allow the business to operate in an agriculturally zoned location.[[In-content Ad]]