03-23-2021 PC MIN - Laserfiche WebLink

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