Nancy Snyder asked what type of permits did her obtain? Answer: Captive White Tail Deer form from Division of Wildlife.

Transcription

1 BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS HEARING 7134 East Sparta Ave. S.E., Magnolia, Ohio June 14, 2016 APPEAL #381 Cory Crank is requesting a Conditional Use Permit to keep wild and exotic animals in a residential district. The property is located at 5477 East Sparta Avenue S.E., East Sparta, OH (Parcel ). BZA members present were Kevin Malavite, Jason Overly, Bob Burkhart, Robert Miller, Dave Stallman (1st Alternate) and Nancy Snyder, presiding. Also present were Zoning Secretary, Molly Murphy; Zoning Inspector, Sharon Perrine; and residents Dawn & Corey Crank, Richard & Vicki Godfrey, Joseph Godfrey, Peggy Boron, Ralph White, and Ron Morrow. Mrs. Snyder opened the Hearing at 6:30 p.m. She explained that the structure of the meeting was going to be a little different because Mr. Crank had to go to work. At this time, Mr. Crank was sworn in. Mr. Crank explained the reason for the request - the house on the property burnt down and during the rebuilding process, he wanted to do something special for his children. He asked them what kind of pet they wanted and they chose the deer. He has had contact with the game warden and the game warden came out to inspect. Nancy Snyder asked what type of permits did her obtain? Answer: Captive White Tail Deer form from Division of Wildlife. Sharon Perrine explained the type of permits that are needed. In the township, he will need a permit from the BZA; he would need a permit/license from Division of Wildlife; and he would need a permit from Division of Ohio Agriculture (this permit is new). Sharon said that the Division of Agriculture has not issued a permit to them yet. Jason Overly asked how many animals does he plan to keep? Answer: Two deer and two turkeys. He has one buck and one doe. If they produce offspring, they will be taken to the exotic animal sale at Mt. Hope. He also has two goats (these are his daughter's 4-H project). At this time, Mr. Crank left for work. Nancy Snyder introduced the Board Members present and requested any additions and/or corrections to the minutes of the previous meeting of the Board. The legal ad and the purpose of the Board of Appeals were read by Molly Murphy.

2 Mrs. Crank was sworn in and was asked by Nancy Snyder what the plans were for the deer. Answer: The deer are pets for their children. Any fawns will be taken to Mt. Hope to sell. Question: Have they done this before? Answer: No, they bought the deer last year as fawns from a person in Pike or Canton Township. Question: Have you had any fawns there? Answer: They have not had offspring. Jason Overly asked Mrs. Crank if the deer were pets. Answer: Yes. Nancy Snyder asked Sharon Perrine how critical is the Agricultural Permit to the board? Answer: Normally, people go to the local government first to find out what they have to do. If they would have come to the township first, they could have gotten a permit with conditions (i.e. if you do this or if you do that, then you come back to the board to approve or not approve the permit). Sharon said that she missed seeing the deer because of having surgery. She first saw the deer at the first of the year. Definitely have to have the agricultural permit. Jason asked about permit that they currently have: is it from Stark County game warden? Answer: Yes. Question: What should have happened (what is the correct process?). Should have come to the board first, then taken the approval to the other agencies to obtain get the correct permits. What validity is with the current permit? Answer: That permit is one step, but they also have to abide by zoning setbacks if the conditional permit is issued. She did not go and walk the property yet, but from what she could see, the setbacks were not correct. There is a problems with the other animals, because they are not permitted since the property is less than 5 acres. The BZA could grant that they could have turkey (for 4-H), but Sharon cannot grant that. The turkeys don t have to have permit from the Department of Agriculture, but the deer do. Bob Burkhart asked if the Ohio Department of Wildlife is a division of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources? Answer: Yes. Nancy Snyder stated that the Ohio Department of Wildlife issues the permit one time, then the jurisdiction comes under the United States Department of Agriculture. The landowner then has to abide by their rules. The issue here is the Agricultural Permit. It is explained in Publication 306. At this point, Nancy Snyder questioned whether the hearing should proceed at this point. She stated the importance of collecting all of the information, especially from the adjoining property owners. After much discussion, it was decided to continue. Nancy Snyder then asked if there were any more questions for Mrs. Crank? Jason Overly asked about the current height of the fences? Answer: 12 feet high. Size of pen? Answer: She did not know the exact size. Kevin Malavite asked how many acres on the property? Answer: 2 acres.

3 Nancy Snyder asked if the pasture subject to flooding? Answer: The lower parts do but not where the fences are. Are the buck and the doe tagged? Answer: Yes, the tags are at home. Have any other complaints been filed with zoning about this property? Answer: Yes. The original house burnt down and there were problems with some of the regulations when it was being rebuilt. Since then, there have been numerous complaints from neighbors about noise, trash and debris. Some of the people that made complaints went straight to the health department. Bob Miller asked if complaints were about animals? Answer: Yes, there have been complaints about the smell and the size of the pen. Nancy Snyder asked if anyone from the audience wanted to give testimony? Don Oberster, 5441 East Sparta Avenue: Asked what this is going to do to the property value? Mr. Crank's dogs come onto his property, and he has spoken to Mr. Crank, who says that the dogs do not go onto his property? How many animals are allowed on 2 acres? Richard Godfrey, 5490 East Sparta Avenue, stated that he doesn't believe that Mr. Crank he is a good custodian of animals. Have had a lot of trouble with his dogs. They do have two acres, but they can t use two acres, because of the flooding by the water. All of the animals are up on the hill, directly by the house. The odors are bad. Turkeys ran wild last year. They have had free range chickens and ducks. He is more worried about insurance issues, when it becomes mating season. Afraid of what could happen if the animals get loose. Ralph White co owner of property with Mr. Crank. When the house burnt down, he spoke to the neighbors about purchasing the property. He thinks that the neighbor is mad because he could not obtain the property. Bob Burkhart asked Mr. White if this will be a detriment to the neighborhood. Answer: No. Nancy Snyder asked why he did not think this was a detriment? Answer: There are houses/properties in the area in worse condition. Vicki Godfrey, 5490 East Sparta Avenue, asked if the permit will be conditional? Will it stipulate what animals he can have? Answer: Yes. Bob Burkhart asked Sharon if the turkeys are considered to be in the exotic animal realm? Answer: No. Nancy Snyder stated that she had consulted with the township attorney and without the proper permits, the BZA cannot continue the meeting at this time. She explained that the hearing was continued because there was such a large turnout of people, and she felt it was necessary for them to be heard. It is on record that if the board turns down the appeal, the Cranks can take this to court. In order to protect the township and the BZA, the proper procedures have to be followed.

4 Kevin Malavite asked - with the Agriculture permit, with 5 acres or less, can they have that many animals on 2 acres? Nancy Snyder said that it has already been determined...that is the rule. There has been opposition tonight about what is currently being kept on the property, it does not seem feasible that the Department of Agriculture would approve something like that on that lesser acreage. She does not feel, as a board, that they have the option of making that exception. It is overruling a pretty big rule that was made by the Department of Agriculture. Sharon Perrine stated that the board could deny the appeal because they did not get the proper permits, or the board could table the issue to give them a timeline to get the proper permits. This would not give the Crank's the guarantee that they would be able to keep the animals. Nancy Snyder said that the board has an obligation to take into consideration - stepping away from the permits - it is important to remember the general standards - the neighborhood. What impact does this have on the people, the property values, etc. There are houses that try really hard to maintain their properties and to keep it a residential area, and then there is a family that is not abiding by the rules, which brings the property values down. It is a big consideration along with the permits. Mr. White asked Sharon if she knew about the other permits? She knew about the one from the Department of Agriculture. Nancy Snyder stated that once the permit is issued through the Ohio Department of Wildlife, the people have to answer to the United States Department of Agriculture. Bob Burkhart made a motion to deny the conditional use permit based on general standards (i.e. disturbing the existing neighborhood, being detrimental to property values. In addition, there is no Agricultural Permit from the ODNR. Kevin Malavite seconded the motion. Vote: Kevin Malavite: Yes to deny the conditional use permit Jason Overly: Yes to deny the conditional use permit Bob Burkhart: Yes to deny the conditional use permit Robert Miller: Yes to deny the conditional use permit Nancy Snyder: Yes to deny the conditional use permit At this time, Nancy Snyder asked if there was any other BZA business to discuss. When there was none, she asked for a motion to adjourn the hearing. A motion was made by Bob Burkhart to adjourn the meeting. The motion was seconded by Jason Overly and the meeting was adjourned at 7:16 p.m.

5 Minutes read and approved: Kevin Malavite Jason Overly Robert Burkhart Robert Miller Nancy Snyder