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Planning Commission Page 3 <br /> March 23,2021 <br /> ----------------------------- <br /> Tim Mullen with wife Vickie, 14280 214"'Ave. NW, moved here in 2017 and live <br /> next door to the applicant. He stated while he understood and respected the <br /> applicant's proposal, he outlined his concerns with approval of the CUP that it will <br /> dramatically affect their property use and enjoyment. He was concerned with animal <br /> noise, odor,and how it may reduce their enjoyment of being outside on their patio. <br /> He also expressed concerns with safety regarding the pigs and asked if there would <br /> always be two pigs on the property or just for a few months out of the year. Lastly, <br /> he stated he was concerned with the CUP affecting his property value and future sale <br /> of his property and asked the Commission to recommend denial of the CUP. <br /> Carlos Soza, 14296 214"'Ave. NW,is the husband of the applicant and addressed <br /> the concerns that Mr. Mullen mentioned. He states he wishes to keep the neighbors <br /> happy and stay within the guidelines allowed by the,city and will do everything they <br /> can to address the concerns. He explained the goats they wish to keep are Nigerian <br /> dwarf goats, a smaller, quieter goat which will keep noise down. He stated they are <br /> trying to situate the animals away from the property lines and adjoining residents to <br /> minimize noise but indicates they also hear noise from other neighboring properties, <br /> such as dogs barking from a neighboring dog breeder and another neighbor who <br /> raises chickens. He explained they have small children so safety is a priority and will <br /> have a fenced in pen area within the fenced pasture to contain the pigs. He stated <br /> they are not planning on raising pigs year-round but will butcher them in the fall. He <br /> stated they wish to be self-sufficient, self-reliant but understands the concern of the <br /> neighbors and wants to maintain harmony with them. He said their goals are to teach <br /> their children where food comes from and how things work. Lastly,he addressed <br /> smells and how they will be planning to compost some of the manure and showed <br /> where they will locate this near the front of the property,reusing the rest of the <br /> manure to fertilize their crops. <br /> Commissioner Rydberg stated he appreciates the off-grid approach. He questioned <br /> why they moved from St. Michael and wondered if they were aware of the ordinance <br /> requirements in Elk River. He stated he was wrestling with allowing this CUP with <br /> conditions by making exceptions to the rules and does not want this approval to <br /> result in a domino effect by other property owner's similar requests. <br /> Mr. Soza stated they wanted to keep chickens in St. Michael, but it was not allowed <br /> on their .16 acres in St. Michael and they also ran into other ordinance restrictions. <br /> He stated he wasn't planning on getting pigs or goats when they moved to Elk River <br /> but they did want chickens. He explained going through the pandemic made them <br /> feel like they wanted to become self-reliant. He would like to know what the <br /> exception would be because he does not want to create a domino effect and thought <br /> they were doing what was already allowed on his property. <br /> Mr. Carlton explained the current ordinance does allow agricultural animals on lots <br /> in the R1a zoning district under 5 acres in size with a CUP. He stated properties 5 <br /> acres and over are allowed,under current ordinance, 1 animal per acre of fenced <br /> pasture land without a CUP. <br /> it-401 <br /> wEeEUo0 IYAR' <br />