BZA approves Ratland Bridge meat-processing major home occupation and sign variance

The Board of Zoning Appeals voted unanimously to approve a major home-occupation permit and a sign-size variance for Ratland Bridge, a small meat-processing operation located off Highway 141 near the city/county line. Motion to approve the major home occupation was made by Mark Presley and seconded by Ron (last name not specified); the motion passed. A separate motion to approve a variance for a larger 5-by-5 sign was made by Cicely (last name not provided) and seconded; that motion also passed.

Why it matters: The permit allows a farm-based slaughtering and processing operation to accept livestock from the public and sell meat on-site in a property zoned A-1 inside city limits. The BZA noted the approval is limited in time and subject to state inspection and local permit conditions, which the applicant and staff said are intended to address public-health, traffic and waste concerns.

The applicant described the planned scale as small and family-run. “It's just gonna be a small, like, slaughtering maybe 8 or 10 hogs, maybe 2 cows a week,” the applicant said, adding that “it'll be Michael and our son” as employees and that the processing building is “a 30 by 60.” The applicant said packaging and some small-scale processing will be done on-site and that USDA and state inspection requirements are in the works.

Planning staff described the parcel and regulatory steps. “If you look in your packet, you will see that I've included a copy of the parcel of land. They have a 130 acres,” planning staff Rosalie said, noting the property is classified as farm and zoned A-1. Staff and the applicant said the operation will work with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) on inspection and with USDA rules where applicable. The applicant said the state inspection visit was expected within about two weeks.

The board discussed operational details during deliberations. The applicant said most customer drop-offs would be by appointment in the morning, with drop-offs generally on Mondays and pick-ups usually the following Friday to allow required cooler and hanging time. On hours, the applicant described operating roughly “7 to 3:30” or “7 to 4.” For waste, the applicant said offal would go to the Smith County Landfill and that blood and excess water would be collected in a 1,000-gallon tank; domestic wastewater would route to the existing septic system.

The BZA members and staff reviewed traffic and parking. Staff noted that traffic effects should be modest because customers would generally arrive by appointment and not all at once; the applicant said the site already receives traffic for retail meat sales and that arrivals and pick-ups would be staggered. The board also discussed the road access; Highway 141 is a state-maintained road and the property is reached by a driveway and a recently replaced bridge, which is why the applicant used the trade name Ratland Bridge.

On signage, the applicant requested a variance to install a double-sided 5-by-5 sign at the start of the driveway; the applicant said the sign would not be lighted and would be placed to minimize sight-line obstruction. The board approved the sign variance by roll call.

Conditions and next steps: The chair noted the major home-occupation approval is time-limited: “their major home occupation was only good for 3 years, and then they had to come back to us,” the BZA Chair said, and asked staff to remind the applicant when the permit is issued. The board recorded no additional conditions in the motion besides standard permit compliance and local sign-ordinance enforcement; local staff will follow up on issuance of the required documentation and monitoring of compliance.

What the approvals do not change: Board members and staff reiterated that state agencies regulate food-safety inspection and that TDEC/USDA approvals are separate requirements the applicant must secure before commencing commercial sales beyond custom or on-farm processing. The BZA does not override state inspection or waste-disposal rules.

For residents interested in the business, the applicant invited the public: “If y'all want any pork, y'all come see us,” the applicant said.

The board completed the votes with no recorded dissent; the meeting moved on to a zoning-training item after the approvals.