02-24-2000 Regular Meeing and Public Hearing

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. . As per the Blackwell family they have kept cattle on this property, pq.or to the consolidation of the communities of Lomax and La Porte. 'With this ,use; being in existence prior to the consolidation it ~asallowed to continue as a non-conformIng use, under previous zoning provisions. ' The Blackwell family applied for, and was issued a permit that recognized th~ existence of cattle production, as a non-conforming, use on October 16,1990. In effect this permit and Standard Industrial Code (SIC) assigned a reconizeduse code that ,the ~lackwells might exceed the maximum number of animals on the 4.5 2: acres as allowed by the ordinance. Because the previous ordinance did not provide such features, the permit did not specify conditions of the non",conforming use, nor did it place a time liniiton this non-conforming use. The permit did not allow for any expansion or intensification of the cattle production operation as stated in Section 106-263 of the City's zoning ordinance: ' The Blackwells have on occasion set up a feeder-lot type activity on the 4.5+ atre parcel. A feeder-lot is an operation where higher than normal concentrations of pattIe are, confined to small area and are provided with ample feed and water. Thes'e type of I operations tend to produce animal waste, insects and noise in excess of w~at would normally occurif the ordinance provisions were enforced. These operations l~ted for periods of up to three weeks with the number of cattle ranging between thirty md forty. ' i , During a period of observation, dating from January 2000 to present the number of livestock on the 4.5 + acres parcel has ranged from three to six 'cattle. There were no signs of over grazing and the property was found to be well maintained and in good order. . , Request for Exemption of Extended Useful Life The owrier of the property in question has submitted his Application for Exemption From Useful life Requirement for the cattle operation on May 17, 2000'. This application can be found at the end of this report. I ' Comments , ' The high concentration of livestock that has been experienced in the past has proven to be a detriment to surrounding propeJ:ty owners. Cattle at the 2 animals per acre 4ensity by current ordinances ~hould not be considered a detriment to the Lomax area in geperal. 7