Two-and-a-half years after regulations for confined feeding operations (CFOs) were toughened, opposition remains strong against large-scale livestock farms in Bartholomew County.
That was evident during what was supposed to be a in-house discussion during a recent meeting of the Bartholomew County Plan Commission.
Although no public discussion or hearing was planned, a member of the Bartholomew County Residents Alliance stepped forward with a controversial proposal.
In his request, John O’Halloran urged planning staff to begin acknowledging the negative impact that CFOs have on neighboring property values in their written reports.
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He described a statement written last July that a proposed CFO would not harm neighboring properties as a “significant miss” by the planning department.
The extent of harm has been a matter of public record since new assessments emerged that show a number of neighboring property values had dropped after a nearby CFO was established, O’Halloran said.
He also cited a report made by select members of a local citizens advisory group, as well as findings established by Purdue agricultural and biological engineering professor Al Heber, as evidence to support his claim.
Since it is the responsibility of the planning department to ensure land uses don’t permanently injure neighboring properties, O’Halloran implied the staff should be required to bring up declining property values from large-scale livestock operations in all reports.
After O’Halloran spoke, Shawn Green of Greensburg told the commission the July approval of the Templeton CFO — Bartholomew County’s 11th — on County Road 700N by the Bartholomew County Board of Zoning Appeals caused a deal to sell 90 acres of neighboring land to fall through.
Green concluded his remarks by asking that any new CFO considered for Bartholomew County be at least 10 miles from a residence.
Columbus-Bartholomew County Planning Director Jeff Bergman responded with a written statement that his department appreciates the information it has received regarding property assessment changes and CFOs over the past six months.
“We are further researching this information to determine how it is most appropriately included in future Planning Department CFO-related staff reports,” Bergman wrote.
But O’Halloran’s request that planners include lower property values from CFOs in written reports drew a different response from plan commission member and Bartholomew County commissioner Rick Flohr.
After serving more than a year on the citizens advisory committee where the impact of CFOs on property values was frequently and hotly debated, Flohr declared the matter “an argument nobody is going to win.”
“If you choose to live in a district that is zoned agricultural, you should not be surprised when there are agricultural enterprises and activities going on in your neighborhood,” said Flohr, a retired small business owner and farmer.
One problem with O’Halloran’s request is that there are no simple answers whether CFOs harm neighboring property values, Bartholomew County Assessor Lew Wilson said.
Variables ranging from land use and natural barriers to topography and prominent wind directions differ in every case, so the impact on neighboring property values will also differ, Wilson said.
There is no standard procedure to evaluate all variables, so conclusions regarding the impact made by property appraisers and assessors will likely not be consistent, the assessor said.
During the commission’s internal discussion, the only problem mentioned with the evaluation of the Templeton CFO is that staff members were unable to identify all nearby wells.
There is no public or private agency that keeps records of where all wells are located, and sometimes property owner aren’t even sure where all wells are located, commissioner members stated.
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Regulations governing confined feeding operations for livestock in Bartholomew County can be found at columbus.in.gov.
After clicking on departments and choosing "Planning," continue to "Columbus" before going on to "Zoning and Subdivision Regulations."
The ordinance dealing with confined feeding operations can be found in "Section 6 – Use Standards."
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