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Saturday, March 04, 2006

Environment - More on: "Dairy CAFO wins case against BZA"

"Blackford board wrong to deny dairy farm hearing" is the headline to this AP story today in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. Some quotes:

HARTFORD CITY – Zoning officials broke the law when they denied a public hearing for a couple who want to start a 2,000-cow dairy farm in eastern Indiana, a judge ruled Thursday.

Special Judge Marianne Vorhees ordered the Blackford County Board of Zoning Appeals to schedule a new hearing on Gerwin and Marinke Oolman’s application for a special zoning exception to build a concentrated animal feeding operation about 20 miles north of Muncie.

“The BZA’s refusal to allow Oolman (Dairy) a public hearing on its second application and its failure to vote on either application has denied Oolman due process of law,” Vorhees wrote in her ruling.

“The court further finds the BZA’s refusal to hear evidence and to vote on the second application was arbitrary and capricious,” she added, and ordered the board to either approve or deny the Oolmans’ request.

Indiana law requires that a zoning appeals board must approve or deny all special exceptions, according to the lawsuit filed in Blackford Circuit Court by Federoff Law Firm of Fort Wayne.

See also yesterday's ILB entry.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on March 4, 2006 08:27 AM
Posted to Environment | Ind. Trial Ct. Decisions | Indiana Government