Wicomico board upholds zoning administrator: proposed poultry biorefinery not an accessory use in A-1 agricultural district

The Wicomico County Board of Zoning Appeals on a unanimous voice vote affirmed the zoning administrator’s decision that a proposed poultry-litter biorefinery is not a permitted accessory use in the county’s A-1 agricultural district.

The board’s preliminary and ultimately affirmed finding came at the conclusion of a contested hearing in which residents, local environmental groups and county staff urged the board to treat the operation as industrial, citing permit language, potential odors and runoff risks. Applicant counsel and witnesses said the operation processes poultry litter generated on-site and therefore should be treated as an agricultural processing activity.

Why it matters: The decision prevents the applicant from operating the proposed processing facility at the contested A-1 site unless the owner obtains a different zoning designation or locates the facility in an industrially zoned area. Neighbors said the facility’s scale, permitting and equipment suggest manufacturing rather than an incidental farm activity, while the applicant argued the process is a farm-related method of handling poultry waste.

Applicants’ argument

Applicant counsel (identified in the hearing as Mr. Showalter) told the board the case was “about use,” saying the proposed activity processes poultry litter produced on the property. Showalter argued that, under the county code, poultry houses and appurtenances include equipment and structures used to process manure and related materials and that the proposed technology is a different method of accomplishing an agricultural task.…