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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1985-12-30 " BOARD OF HEALTH Minutes of December 30, 1985 Meeting The meeting was called to order at 10:04 a.m. by Chairman Gardner; all members were present. In order to better accomodate the public attendence, Mr. Gardner ;recessed the meeting until 11 :15 a.m., to be held in the Court Room. I IThe meeting reconvened at 11:12 a.m., with all members present. Chairman Gardner !read a prepared statement which clarified the reason for the hearing. The state~ ~ent also advised that the property owners, abutters and neighbors, and resident~ lof the Town would have the opportunity to voice their opinions concerning the ~atter. j ~. Robert F. Mooney, Esq., attorney for Mr. and Mrs. W.O. Lindholm, property ~anagers, spoke on behalf of the Lindholms, stating that the permits held by 'them for the past two yeear had been approved with no problems, and that there I had never been any complaints until this one. ~lso noted that farmland was exempt I from Town zoning requirements. I . James F. Slattery, administrator for the Massachusetts Farm Bureau addressed ithe issue:, and stated that the farm is "very clean, very neat, and would rank I within the top 100% of farms ...". rs. Kathy Lindholm told the Board that the farm had been started with pigs be- cause she felt them to be the "hardiest" farm animal. The intention is to have ~ total of six pens which will be used to rotate with three used for animals, !and three for crops. Their intentioqis to raise the pigs, and sell their meat las an organically raised product of Nantucket, as the pigs are fed Nantucket I~egetables and grains. Mrs. Lindholm then answered several questions from I~he Board concerning the actual layout of the property, at which point she pro- i !duced a plot plan to illustrate the proposed constructions. ! . Mooney then read letters from James J. Gespach, MSPCA, and Charles Michael- Ison, with whom the actual purchasing of the pigs is transacted. Both letters !spoke favorably of the Lindholm operation, after individual inspection and con- Itact. I The Board then requested Richard Ray, Health Inspector, to give a report of his I findings concerning the farm. Mr. Ray stated that the first complaint was re- ceived by him on November 25, 1985, with respect to "noxious odors". Along with ~ire Chief Watts, and Building Inspector Borchert, he inspected the property and, Ilfound no changes except for the addition of a goa;t, and the construction of pens ~ Ijcarl Borchert, Building Inspector/Zoning Officer, then presented to the Board, in Illetter form, from which he read, a summary of his inspections of June 26, 1985, , I~~gust 14, 1985, and November 25, 1985. During each visit, he found no viola- Itlons. : I Chairman Gardner opened the floor to opinions in favor of the licensing. Several citizens spoke in favor of the renewal of the license, including Fred Coffin, Brian King, Laura Crocker, Andy Lowell, Linda Loring, phil Bartlett, Jim Lentow- ski (on behalf of the Nantucket Conservation Foundation) and Mike Gordon. Chairman Gardner then opened the floor to discussion by those opposed to the re- lissuance of the license, to which Mr. Wayne Holmes, Esq. directed his comments. Mr. Holmes stated that the issue to which the Board should direct its findings is whether or not the farm would "lessen the value of the estates of others", as directed in the "piggery Statute". Mr. Holmes then presented to the Board an appraisal from Jones Appraisal Service, which indicated that the estimated I land value of the abutting property had decreased by $300,000.00. oth Selectmen Sevrens and Clute asked Mr. Ronald K. Bamber when he had entered ~Iinto the Purchase and Sales Agreement for the land abutting the Lindholm's pro- erty. Mr. Bamber stated that the date of the Agreement was October 30, 1985, to which Mr. Clute pointed out that Mr. Bamber lodged the complaint after sign- ing an agreement when the pigs were already occupying the land. IChairman Gardner requested any further comments to the Board; Linda Loring, an r.butter of the property, noted that she had suffered no decrease in her property alue. Mr. Lindholm stated that there had never been any threats between him- I self and Mr. Bamber, as Mr. Bamber had otherwise stated in the meeting. Mr. i jlGOrdOn stated that as Nantucket had been founded by fishermen and farmers, it Ilseemed natural for this farm to continue. I I I I II :, B.O.H. Dec. 30, 1985 con't. Mr. Gardner then addressed the following seven questions to the Board for their determination in consideration of the licensing: 1. Is the use by "Makin' Bacon" of its property a "nuisance"? Before you vote on that question, I will call on Town Counsel Vaughan to give the Board a definition of the term "nuisance". (Mr. Vaughan then read the definition as taken from "Black's Law Dictionary"). Answer: "No", moved by Mr. Cabot; seconded by Mr. Clute; so voted. 2. Is the use of the property harmful to the inhabitants of Nantucket?: Answer: "No", moved by Mr. Cabot; seconded by Mr. Clute; so voted. 3. Is the use of the property injurious to the estates of neighbors? Answer: "No", moved by Mr. Cabot; seconded by Mr. Clute; so voted. 4. Is the use of the property dangerous to the public health? Answer: "No", moved by Mr. Cabot; seconded by Mr. Clute; so voted. 5. Is the use of the property attended by noisome or injurious odors (exclude from your consideration the odor associated with the nor- I mal maintenance of livestock or the spreading of manure)? Answer: "No", moved by Mr. Clute; seconded by Mr. Cabot; so voted. 6. (If you have found any of the above to apply -- Le. any "yes" vote) should the use be prohibited? Answer: "No", moved by Mr. Cabot; seconded by Mrs. Sevrens; so voter. 7. Should the use be allowed? Answer: "Yes, a. in current location" moved by Mr. Cabot; seconded by Mrs. Sevrens; so voted. The Board thus voted unanimously to reissue necessary licensing to the Lindholm's for 1986. Mrs. Sevrens added that there should be a ceiling on the number of pigs to be kept at the farm -- 100 at the most at any given time was given by . the Lindholms. Mrs. Sevrens made a motion for this limit to be set; seconded I by Mr. Clute; so voted. Along this line, Mr. Lentowski, for the Nantucket Con- servation Foundation, asked if there should be a limit on other animals as well; I Mr. Slattery stated that the District Soil Conservation Service could best ad- Ivise as to limits o~ other types of livestock. The Board then specified that lithe approval of the current location was granted with the understanding that Ithe Lindholm's would provide the Board with a complete site plan for existing and proposed pens. I !There 12: 15 being no further discussion, Mr. Cabot p.m.; seconded by Mr. Clute; so voted. Paul J. moved to adjourn the meeting at Bergendahl, II Executive Secretary Board of Health "'-._ "