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Planning commission schedules public hearing on confined feeding zoning amendment
Summary
The Page County Planning Commission voted to schedule a Jan. 13 public hearing on zoning amendments clarifying rules for confined feeding operations, including definitions, per-parcel animal-unit thresholds, setbacks and whether CAFOs should be allowed in Woodland Conservation. The hearing is conditional on the county attorney not raising major objections.
The Page County Planning Commission voted to schedule a public hearing on proposed zoning amendments that would clarify how confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) are regulated, particularly in Woodland Conservation districts. The commission made the decision after extensive discussion about inconsistent wording, setback distances and whether CAFOs should remain allowed in Woodland Conservation at all.
Staff presented corrections to the zoning-district language that followed a 2023 update of CAFO regulations. Commissioners highlighted several issues: the district text sometimes refers broadly to “confined feeding operations” while Article 6 definitions use the narrower term “confined poultry feeding operation”; county thresholds and DEQ rules differ by species (for example, poultry thresholds differ from cattle); and existing setback language had been reduced previously from 600 feet to 300 feet in many places.
Commissioners debated whether to continue allowing confined feeding in Woodland Conservation by special-use permit, or to remove the use entirely from Woodland Conservation and thereby apply the more restrictive standard. Supporters of the special-use approach said it provides a process for objective criteria—such as proximity to neighbors—while those favoring removal argued it better protects residents and avoids administratively subjective neighbor-dependent decisions. Staff and commissioners also discussed nonconforming-use protections (e.g., difficulty restoring a facility after extended discontinuance) and whether any change should apply only prospectively.
The draft amendments would also clarify that animal-unit thresholds apply per parcel (so multiple houses on one parcel count cumulatively toward the threshold) and add a defined, weight-based formula for a “confined feeding animal unit.” Commissioners asked staff to replace the phrase “stocking density” with “stocking rate” and to make definitions consistent across documents.
On a motion that the public hearing be scheduled for Jan. 13 provided the county attorney does not have major objections, the commission voted to set the hearing and asked staff to report back within about a week on the attorney’s review. The motion was seconded and carried on roll call. The record shows staff intend to incorporate minor corrections before the hearing; if the county attorney requires substantial edits, the hearing could be postponed.
