Planners recommending approval of sales barn
By Brandy Nance (Contact)
Originally published 01:31 p.m., January 10, 2008
Updated 01:31 p.m., January 10, 2008
An application for a sales barn near Admire has cleared the first hurdle and will be recommended for approval after more than an hour of discussion Wednesday evening during the Lyon County Planning and Appeals Board meeting.
The planning board is a recommending board and the final decision will now rest with the Lyon County Commission.
The application for the sales barn was heard multiple times. At the first meeting on the request, held in September, landowner Charles Loomis said he wanted to have a livestock sale barn. The barn would be between 11,000 and 14,000 square feet on approximately 10 acres of land owned by Loomis. The sales barn would be located at 1505 Road 310, Admire, which is on the southeast corner of Kansas Highway 99 and Road 310. The application was tabled a few times to give Loomis time to gather and present more information for board members.
During November’s meeting, Loomis said he wants to build a 60-by-240 foot barn with lean-tos on the outside. He said the barn would be capable of holding 400 to 500 head of livestock for the sales. He said the barn would sit about 200 feet south of the north fence on Road 310 and would include two entrances.
Over the past few months, concerns over the application ranged from use of the land to pollution concerns and effect on future growth of the area. Wednesday evening, a representative from the Kansas Department of Transportation raised a concern about spacing on Highway 99 between the highway and the driveway. Safety concerns were discussed and what could be done to improve the road and turnouts onto the road.
The issue of pollution also was raised during Wednesday’s meeting. Planning Board Member Kevin Karr read from a report from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. He said KDHE gave an overall pollution rating of 50 regarding surface water protection based on several categories. Risk values over 60 are considered to be a significant pollution problem, Karr said.
“So, he is at a 50,” he said.
The application was approved unanimously Wednesday evening based on Lyon County’s Comprehensive Plan that states that agricultural use of land in the county should be encouraged.
“This is an agricultural use,” said board member Phil Mott. “In my opinion, this is a use that belongs in an agricultural district.”
Karr said the business fits in the area.
“It fits our zoning regulations as well as anything,” he said. “I sympathize with folks that have a different view of the use of the land.”
The application was approved with the conditions that Loomis provide safety accommodations for increased use of roads and complies with water and sewage disposal guidelines.
In other business, board members will recommend approval for the following applications:
• A request for agriculture special use, single-family dwelling by Jose and Serrell Aranda.
• A request for agriculture special use, single-family dwelling by Brian Whitmore.
• A request for agriculture special use, single-family dwelling by Nellie Owens.
Comments
Post a comment
We allow registered users to post comments on this Web site. Our goal with this feature is to encourage thoughtful discussions about the news stories. Using the comment feature to make random attacks on people is not acceptable. Emporiagazette.com neither endorses nor guarantees the accuracy of any user contribution. Responsibility for what is posted or contributed to this site is the sole responsibility of each user. To learn more about our posting policies please read our User Poster Agreement Policy.
(Requires free registration.)