Wayne County commissioner's chicken proposal lays an egg

The proposal by commissioner Mary Anne Butters sought to limit the number of chickens and other animals that could be on certain agricultural operations, and to require a public hearing for proposed animal operation building applications that exceed certain levels, was all but stonewalled by Butters' fellow commissioners and the head of the county's office of planning and zoning during the group's morning session at the county building.

While only a few members of the public were in attendance for the meeting, the exchanges at times became heated among Butters, commissioners Ken Paust and Denny Burns, and Steve Higinbotham, who also acts as the county building inspector.

"I really was just working as hard as I could to help the people of Wayne County," Butters said. "I don't take this (defeat) or the remarks personally."

Butters was asking the commissioners to hit the pause button on new, large-scale animal agricultural developments so they could examine the impact of such operations on the local property values and businesses near to the operations. The request, which was all but denied, was in response to recent developments in Hagerstown, which has seen a boom in such farming businesses and operations since the start of the year.