Some people don't want their houses near other residential development.

Tuesday, remonstrators against Kevin Deardorff's petition for an exception said they'd rather have residential development by their property then heifers and sheep.

Deardorff's petition was to allow agricultural uses (six non-lactating dairy heifers and four sheep) in a residential district. The property is on the south side of CR 200S and 980 feet east of Ferguson Road in Wayne Township.

Previously, said Area Plan Director Dan Richard, Deardorff petitioned to allow an open-ended number of animals on his property and for an oversize accessory building, but the BZA denied the petition because there was no control on how many animals Deardorff could have on his property.

Now, Richard said, the accessory building will be smaller and meets ordinance requirements so does not need BZA approval. Deardorff's petition now limits the number of animals on the property.

Steve Snyder, attorney for Deardorff, said this time the petition is different and the request is limited to six heifers and four sheep on 17.9 acres. The property is also between other property zoned agricultural and residential and was used for agricultural purposes before.

Approximately five acres will be fenced in for the animals and 10 acres will continue to be used for the production of hay.

Kurt Miller, whose property borders Deardorff's on the east and south, said, "I'm in favor of this property and request." He said he would rather see fields than single family residences. A few heifers and sheep, he said, won't create a problem. "I'm glad that that's what he intends to do with it." He said he can't imagine anyone objecting to the petition.

But a couple of neighbors did object.

Brad Lankford said he bought the property because it was a residential area with no animals in the area. He said part of his criteria for buying the property was how the area was zoned.

"There have never been animals since the time I lived there (1993)," he said. His pool, which he put in, will be near the cows.

"They're trying to get an exception that not only impacts the value of my land but also everyone who lives in there," Lankford said. He asked the board what were the changes in the petition that allowed it to come before the BZA again.

Vic Virgil, BZA member, said the previous petition didn't have any limit to the number of agricultural animals on the property. Deardorff's petition now limits how many he can have.

"He's wanting to improve his property values at my cost," said Lankford.

Dale Degroff said if Deardorff is allowed to have farm animals on his property, it will attract mice, insects and unwanted birds. He said the packed ground, caused by the animals, will be conducive to heavy water run-off, which is a concern because of animal waste, which will be in the run-off.

BZA member Charlie Haffner asked Degroff if he realized that adjacent property on one side of Deardorff's property is zoned residential and on the other side is agriculture. If Deardorff wanted to rezone his property to an agricultural district, the plan commission would have no reason to deny the request and there would be no control on how many animals Deardorff could have.

In rebuttal to the remonstrators, Snyder said agricultural purposes are exceptions to residential zoning. He also said Deardorff plans to have the animals on his property because Deardorff's children are involved in 4-H.

Virgil made a motion to approve the petition to allow Deardorff to have six heifers and four sheep. The motion passed unanimously.

Members of the BZA are Bob Beer, Vic Virgil, Walter Church, Ron Sharp and Charlie Haffner. They meet at 8:30 a.m. on the second Tuesday of every month. [[In-content Ad]]