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Jennings County officials set 30- and 60-day deadlines after neighbors complain about animals at 3015 North Washington Street
Summary
Officials allowed property owners to keep animals temporarily at 3015 North Washington Street while requiring the removal or processing of most animals within 30 days for pigs and 60 days for chickens after neighbors raised runoff, odor and fencing concerns.
Jennings County officials reviewed a variance request from Jessica and Benjamin Olden to continue keeping multiple animals at 3015 North Washington Street and set temporary compliance deadlines amid neighbor objections.
Neighbors said the animals, which the board recorded as 3 pigs, roughly 6 turkeys, 14 ducks, 3 geese and 49 chickens, raised concerns about inadequate shelter, animals wandering into nearby yards and runoff from a hand-dug pond. A neighbor testified, "It's essentially a puddle," and warned the site could overflow into a local ditch. The owners said they were raising birds "to grow out to fill the freezers" and confirmed they planned to process many of the animals in November.
Board members debated a motion to deny the variance, then shifted to conditions aimed at a short-term resolution. The board set a timeline of 30 days for the pigs and 60 days for the chickens to be processed or removed, and discussed an expectation that the family would keep only a small number of birds thereafter. One official warned that continued complaints would trigger animal-control enforcement.
The board noted the parcel is zoned residential and not agricultural, and members cited the lot's small size and the volume of animals as reasons for limiting how many could remain. Officials repeatedly said that if the animals became a nuisance, smell or generated complaints, the matter would return for enforcement action.
What happens next: the owners said they could process animals sooner if needed and indicated they planned to reduce numbers after the grow-out. Board members recorded the compliance timeline but did not adopt a permanent zoning change during the meeting. The body said it would revisit the matter if more complaints arrive.
