DeKalb County planners recommend CFO rule change

However, the committee came up with a different plan, which several people at Wednesday’s meeting called a good compromise. Members on the study committee were Bill VanWye, Mike Kline, Elysia Rodgers and Tim Griffin, along with Zoning Administrator Clint Knauer.

Kline was absent from Wednesday’s meeting, but the Plan Commission’s seven other members voted in favor of the change. The county commissioners will review the recommendation Monday at 9 a.m. at the courthouse and make a final decision.

If a farm exceeds a prescribed number of animals, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management considers it a confined feeding operation. The potential change would allow CFOs with up to two times the IDEM standard to operate in five zoning districts in DeKalb County: A1 conservation agricultural, A2 agricultural, A3 high-intensity agricultural, I2 low-intensity agricultural and I3 high-intensity agricultural.

For a CFO with more than twice the number of animals in IDEM’s definition, the location would need to be zoned I2, I3 or A3. In A3 zoning, a CFO that large would have to apply for a special exception from the Board of Zoning Appeals. A special exception would not be required in I2 or I3 zoning, but a development plan for the operation still would be reviewed by the Plan Commission.

Knauer also endorsed the potential change. Members of the Plan Commission cited recent changes in farming trends as reasons for the change.

Jacob Walker of Walker Farms said the plan is a good compromise and thanked the Plan Commission for its work.

“This offers a clear path forward for agriculture in this county,” Walker said.

However, audience member and Butler resident Mike Slentz said CFOs with smaller numbers of animals still should be required to go to the Board of Zoning Appeals to obtain special exceptions.