Planning commissioners recommend permit to restore livestock on historic Greene County farm, add 2-acre pasture condition

The Greene County Planning Commission on Tuesday recommended approval of a special-use permit (SUP-26002) that would allow the property owner to resume keeping livestock on an active roughly 16-acre farm parcel, subject to a newly added condition requiring a minimum of 2 acres of rangeable land for the livestock area.

Planning staff described the request as a housekeeping action to make zoning match long‑standing farm use, noting that nonconforming residential zoning (R-1) can cause loss of an agricultural use if it has not been continued for two years. "They do want to keep cows on what you can see is already an active farm," the staff member said, explaining the request. The applicant, identified in the hearing as Miss Morris, told the commission the property is fenced and that "the entire exterior of the property is fenced," and said she would install additional internal fencing so animals would not get on her front porch.

Chair moved to recommend approval citing Greene County zoning ordinance Article 5-1-2.2; a commissioner then proposed an amendment to require a minimum 2-acre livestock area, which staff described as a standard condition for similar applications. The commission voted in favor of the amended motion; the chair called the ayes and the motion passed. The staff member said the application will be forwarded to the Greene County Board of Supervisors for a public hearing next Tuesday at 6:30 p.m., with online access available.