P&Z approves Brown's dairy plan

A motion to approve the application for a conditional use permit and confined animal feeding operation for the Bernie Brown dairy with additional conditions received five 'yes' votes with two planning and zoning commission members voting 'no' during the Sept. 29 meeting.

Planning and zoning chairman Nick Nettleton explained any decision made by the commission may be appealed to the Board of Elmore County Commissioners within 15 days. The 15 days officially begin once P&Z has formally approved the findings of fact and conclusions of law and order. The findings of fact could be ready for approval at the Oct. 6 planning and zoning meeting which will be held at the city hall in Glenns Ferry beginning at 7 p.m.

Each of the nine standards for all conditional use permits was addressed individually and voted on.

P&Z cast a unanimous vote that the proposal will in fact constitute a conditional use as determined by the official schedule of district regulations for the zoning district involved.

P&Z members K.C. Duerig and Todd Waite did not feel the proposal will be in harmony with and in accordance with the comprehensive plan and the ordinance. All other P&Z members voted the plan met the standards.

Five members voted the proposal will be designed, constructed, operated and maintained in such a way as to be harmonious and appropriate in appearance with the existing or intended character of the general vicinity and that such use will not change the essential character of said area. Duerig and Waite voted in opposition.

A majority of P&Z voted the proposal will not be hazardous or disturbing to existing or future neighboring uses. Al Sobtzak felt this would change the general characteristics of the area. Duerig stated he was concerned with the bird traffic and felt this would be disturbing. Sobtzak, Duerig and Waite voted the standard had not been met.

The P&Z agreed the project will be served adequately by available public facilities and services such as highways, streets, police and fire protection, drainage structures, refuse disposal, water, sewer, or that the person responsible for the establishment of the proposed conditional use shall be able to provide adequately any such service. In discussing the standard, the commission came to an agreement that the standard could be met with conditions.

Conditions could be added so the proposed dairy will not create excessive additional requirements at public cost for public facilities and services and will not be detrimental to the economic welfare of the county.

A majority agreed the proposal will not involve uses, activities, processes, materials, equipment and conditions of operation that will be detrimental to any persons, property or the general welfare by reason of excessive production of traffic, noise, smoke, fumes, glare or odors. Waite and Duerig voted in opposition.

P&Z unanimously agreed the project will have vehicular approaches to property which shall be so designed as not to create an interference with traffic on surrounding public or private roadways.

They also agreed the proposal will not result in the destruction, loss or damage of a natural or scenic feature of major importance.

The commission agreed the application met all of the criteria for approval and development standards for new CAFO facilities.

Courtney Hiler moved to approve the application for a conditional use permit and confined animal feeding operation for a dairy with the following conditions: the applicant will be required to have an odor management plan; applicant will have an aggressive bird abatement plan to minimize the number of birds on premises; operator will not hold the United States Air Force liable for any negative impact on production or any other dairy concerns due to flyover and/or jet noise; operator will bear fiscal responsibility for any upgrade or construction necessary to handle increase in traffic as determined by the state and local jurisdictional highway district or department; applicant will enter into a memorandum of understanding to this effect with each entity which will consent; applicant will abide by all regulations required by all state, local and federal agencies; irrigation well on the property will be protected to the satisfaction of the Department of Water Resources; and the facility will remain in compliance with Zoning and Development Ordinance and Confined Animal Feeding Operation Ordinance.

Al Sobtzak seconded the motion. Duerig and Waite voted 'no,' while the remaining commission voted in favor of the motion.

The public hearing for the Bernie Brown request for a conditional use permit (CUP) and confined animal feeding operation (CAFO) began June 23, 2004.

Brown, a 35-year resident of the area, explained that growers have seen some tough times over the years. The area used to support potatoes, beans, sugar beets, alfalfa and corn. But one by one those crops were shut down, until alfalfa and corn are the only two cash crops left. With that in mind, Brown felt that a dairy could be a good fit.

Brown's application is for 13,200 animal units to include 8,000 milking cows. He explained the operation would have a tremendous impact on the economy, bringing in good paying jobs.

The proposed dairy is to be located southwest of Mountain Home. To get to the site, travel south on Highway 51 to Division Road, then go west 1 ¾ miles to the northeast corner of section 20.

Brown and dairy planner/developer, Darwin Vander Steit, explained the proposed dairy will milk 8,000 Holstein cows and maintain 2,000 mature dry cows and heifers. The milking cows will initially be housed in open corrals and a maternity barn. However, Brown expects to construct free-stall barns in the future. The five 1,500'x102' free stall barns will be constructed using the feed alleys already constructed in the corrals.

Dry cows and springing heifers will be maintained in adjacent open corrals, which will be equipped with shelters and windbreaks. Free stalls will be bedded with compost (produced on the dairy), while the corrals will be bedded with straw. Manure and bedding from corrals will be scraped and piled in corrals or in the composting area until it can be hauled away. Manure from the free stall barns will be vacuumed daily into vacuum tanks and deposited on top of compost rows, and immediately incorporated in a 40-acre composting facility, or directly applied to cropland.

The dairy owns 1,440 acres, of which more than 1,050 are irrigated cropland. The crop rotation is corn silage, triticale and alfalfa hay. The plan requires that the manure will be placed into the composting facility 80 percent of the time, with direct field application into fields being prepared for spring or fall crops the remaining 20 percent of the time.

It is estimated that 80,600 gallons of water per day are used for cow washing, deck flushing and clean up. Stockwater is first run through the plate coolers and not counted. The required storage for 180 days is 2,379,960 cubic feet. The lagoons together hold a total of 5,224,500 cubic feet, which is more than adequate for 180 days storage.

The lagoons and composting area must be constructed according to specifications provided by the Idaho Department of Agriculture and inspected before use. One portion of the composting area will be designed to allow storage and recovery of vacuumed manure during wet periods when the remainder of the composting area is too wet to allow normal composting operations. This section will be fitted with a paved floor and be adequate to hold at least three weeks of vacuumed manure. The composting facility covers 40 acres surrounded by a berm adequate to contain any run-off.

The dairy will operate 24 hours, seven days a week and at full development will employ approximately 80 full-time people. Dairies are dependent upon qualified and loyal employees and typical wages in the industry would range from $20,000 for milkers to $35,000 for middle managers, to $50,000 for upper management. The total product sales will approach $26,000,000 per year. Using a multiplier of three, the impact on Elmore County will approach $75,000,000 per year.

The dairy is expected to generate approximately 16 truck trips per day.

An odor management plan will be developed at the time the dairy is licensed. The primary mechanism for controlling odor is a system which keeps 94 percent of the waste generated out of the liquid waste system. A management regime is proposed for the compost yard which will reduce odors to the lowest possible level.

After the presentation, nearly 40 members of the public offered testimony. One after another most expressed concerns about water, odor, truck traffic, and property values. Some expressed concern with the proposed dairy's close proximity to the base and what it could mean to the military future in Mountain Home. Others expressed concern with too many dairies being located in the vicinity.

Not all of the testimony was opposing the proposal. A few spoke in favor of the proposal citing benefits to the economy -- new jobs and a better tax base. Jobs are not seasonal and are not minimum wage.