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Neighbors tell Cloverdale Unified trustees livestock placed five feet from homes creates odors, pests; ask district to relocate animals
Summary
Residents told the Cloverdale Unified board that the district’s agriculture program keeps animals just feet from backyards, producing odors, flies and rats and prompting multiple police visits; they asked the board to move the animals, follow 300‑foot zoning guidance and provide a timeline for action.
Residents urged the Cloverdale Unified School District board on Tuesday to move agricultural livestock away from homes after neighbors described persistent odors, flies and rodents and repeated late‑night disturbances.
"There's odors from urine, feces, and hay entering homes and making backyards unusable," said Shauna Majeris, a neighbor, who told the board the farm sits about five feet from residential property lines. "We are asking to relocate the animals to another area on campus that is not adjacent to homes." (Speaker: Shauna Majeris)
Majeris and her husband, Michael Majeras, said they have repeatedly contacted school administrators and the district with little change. "We called the police; Sergeant Englesfeld came over and we both commented how terrible the smell of urine is in our backyard," Majeras said, adding police were called multiple times in the past week and that an animal‑remediation inspection had been promised but had not occurred.
Other neighbors described similar problems. Shirley Linehan said the goat noises have prompted calls to police and that her home now draws swarms of flies. Diane Simpson, who lives on North Cloverdale Boulevard, said she supported the agricultural program but not its placement: "We're not asking for them to be removed. We're asking them to be moved. They should have never been put there in the first place." (Speakers: Shirley Linehan; Diane Simpson)
Speakers asked the board to follow basic zoning best practices and cited a city guideline that recommended a 300‑foot separation between livestock and residential property lines. The public commenters stressed they support the program in principle and want it retained in a different location on campus.
Board members acknowledged the concerns but did not take immediate formal action during the meeting. Chair noted residents may email trustees or meet with district staff; the superintendent said members of the public could set up meetings with him to provide more information and staff could return with options. (Speakers: Board Chair; Superintendent)
No motion or vote on relocating the animals occurred at the meeting. The public comment period and subsequent trustee discussion ended with the request that neighbors provide the district additional information so staff could evaluate possible mitigation or relocation and report back at a future meeting.
What happens next
Trustees invited residents to email the board and meet with the superintendent; no specific mitigation timeline or formal staff assignment was announced. The district did not reference a completed remediation inspection during the meeting.
