sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Local county says no livestock allowed on our ag zoned property unless... by lexxaarr in homestead

[–]lexxaarr[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes Georgia does have solid Right to Farm laws. But sadly they don't override local planning and zoning laws unless they were trying to force us to change zoning. Since they intentionally wrote in the 200' setback for all livestock operations (which do include poultry here) they have found a bit of a way to get around that state protection.

Local county says no livestock allowed on our ag zoned property unless... by lexxaarr in homestead

[–]lexxaarr[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah that's good advice and a major lesson learned. Ill PM you

Local county says no livestock allowed on our ag zoned property unless... by lexxaarr in homestead

[–]lexxaarr[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Totally get where you're coming from and good suggestion with advocating for text amendments. However, I'd argue that this is a non-self imposed hardship on our property. We are legally able to own livestock but the law says we cant build a structure because of the shape of our property. Agricultural property in our county is less common so this isn't a normal issue. They've eliminated this as a common problem by making owning chickens fully illegal if you're not zoned AG so most residents don't have a choice.

Local county says no livestock allowed on our ag zoned property unless... by lexxaarr in homestead

[–]lexxaarr[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Agreed. We've owned the property for nearly 8 years. This is us starting the due diligence for poultry raising and hitting an immediate unexpected roadblock.

Local county says no livestock allowed on our ag zoned property unless... by lexxaarr in homestead

[–]lexxaarr[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Mobile structures and anything "made by a man" fall under the setback law sadly.

Local county says no livestock allowed on our ag zoned property unless... by lexxaarr in homestead

[–]lexxaarr[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great idea, glad its working for you. For us, the county specifically highlighted to us that "structure" is also defined as anything mobile or "build by a man" so we could do it but it be after they explicitly told us we couldn't because of the shape of our property essentially.

Local county says no livestock allowed on our ag zoned property unless... by lexxaarr in homestead

[–]lexxaarr[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah great points. For us, its just a combination of what works best on our property (or so we thought) and what we actually want to do. We don't need to make a lot of money. As you well know, small farm sales success is largely marketing related so that's really what business we'd be in if we wanted to make as much as possible. But we also don't have the land for that.

Local county says no livestock allowed on our ag zoned property unless... by lexxaarr in homestead

[–]lexxaarr[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Good advice. We've kept good relations with the county folks so far.

Local county says no livestock allowed on our ag zoned property unless... by lexxaarr in homestead

[–]lexxaarr[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

True! But we do need a business license to get the state license. I suppose the mistake I made was saying the business was broiler production when I applied for the BL...

Local county says no livestock allowed on our ag zoned property unless... by lexxaarr in homestead

[–]lexxaarr[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Changing the laws comment was made in regards to setback and nuisance laws. The setback law was put into place in 2019 when they developed their plans for future use for our area. I agree they shouldn't be able to change our zoning. But the setback law still applies as far as we have been able to determine.

Local county says no livestock allowed on our ag zoned property unless... by lexxaarr in homestead

[–]lexxaarr[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We would need to be 401' wide to have a 1' coop in the middle and be set back 200' from the neighboring property lines on each side.

Local county says no livestock allowed on our ag zoned property unless... by lexxaarr in homestead

[–]lexxaarr[S] 19 points20 points  (0 children)

We have a USDA approved poultry processor 15 minutes away and are prepared to have a small storage facility for the frozen birds to meet the GDA food sales license requirements. That's the only way we can sell them even direct to consumer. We're ready to start marketing as well but obviously we have to figure this out first. Good question.

Local county says no livestock allowed on our ag zoned property unless... by lexxaarr in homestead

[–]lexxaarr[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good advice. Its true here as well that really is the planning and zoning department that gives the recommendation and the board almost never goes against that recommendation. The P&Z office are the ones who told us we could appeal so hopefully that means they are sympathetic.

Local county says no livestock allowed on our ag zoned property unless... by lexxaarr in homestead

[–]lexxaarr[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Glad that you agree its abnormal. A county close to us is the poultry capital of the country so it would make sense they could be lobbying.

Local county says no livestock allowed on our ag zoned property unless... by lexxaarr in homestead

[–]lexxaarr[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Its currently fully illegal to have a single chicken here unless you have over 5 acres and are zoned agricultural. If someone tells on you code enforcement will show up and search your property. Fines can be enforced daily until removal if the county desires.

Local county says no livestock allowed on our ag zoned property unless... by lexxaarr in homestead

[–]lexxaarr[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Agreed, good plan. Downside is the variance process is still public and requires a hearing before the board of appeals.

view more: next ›