CHAZY —
Plans for a new poultry farm in Chazy have been scrapped because of a controversy surrounding its location.
Chris and Curtis Latremore of Latremore Insurance had planned to sister with Pete & Gerry's Organic Eggs, a poultry farm in New Hampshire, to eventually establish an 80,000-bird operation off Washington Avenue.
But when some residents of the 29 homes nearby, whose parcels were once a part of a farm that has been inactive for more than 20 years, voiced concern about the farm's proposed proximity, the brothers ditched the plans.
"It doesn't look like we're going to move forward with the plans," Chris said Thursday, just days after a Planning Board meeting that essentially gave them the go-ahead. Chris said he was disappointed with all the controversy the farm plans stirred up.
The situation also raised concerns about the town's zoning laws.
"I don't think it's a farm," Tom Gonyo, who lives and grew up on Washington Avenue, said of the location. "I don't think it's farm land. That street has seen 41-percent residential growth in 10 years."
He thinks the problem lies with the town's Planning Board and a law established in 1991 that deems all Chazy land as Agricultural Use, meaning any person owning at least five acres of land can legally build a farm without consulting the town or neighbors.
To a number of people, that law seems dated and unfair to residents in Chazy.
"It should have been changed years ago," Gonyo said, noting that three members of the Planning Board are in the farming business.
During a recent meeting, the board rejected a motion to put the Latremores' farm plans in a moratorium, which essentially gave them the green light on site development.
"I don't think it belongs in that area," Gonyo said. "Chazy needs business — I'm not saying that at all — but that's a residential area, and they're putting a commercial business in it.
"The Planning Board should have rezoned that long ago. Any lot over five acres can be a farm. That's not fair."
PROTECTION
Tom's sister, Sara Gonyo, who also grew up in the Washington Avenue home, shared his concerns.
"If it was only a few chickens, that would be fine," she said. "I mean, where does it stop? There's no stopping it, and that's our concern. The sub lots have all been residential. I guess we all assumed that those were supposed to be, too."
She said the Planning Board should have entertained the motion to review the proposal, instead of saying, "It's agricultural and there's not a thing you can do.
"I understand you need to protect the farmers," she said, "but where's the protection for the residents?"
Like many, Tom Gonyo feels residents are being out-muscled by policy.
"The (Planning) Board has definitely protected the farms, and now it's affecting the residents."
CLOSEST NEIGHBOR
Jamie Garrant said she, her husband and three young children would probably have been the most impacted by the Latremores' plan.
"Our properties meet," Garrant said.
She was worried about "the traffic, the smell, the eyesore, the safety and the value of my house," she said, adding that assessors she's talked with said her home's market value in real estate would have dropped because of the farm.
"That's pretty much where our money is; it's tied up in the house."
She said that, when she looked to build on the street two years ago, she was told the Latremores planned to build homes for their children on the property.
"I anticipated residents. I definitely didn't think something like this would pop up there."
She understands Chazy is an agricultural town but thinks denying that their neighborhood is residential is wrong.
Curtis said neither he nor Chris ever mentioned or suggested what they planned to do with the property.
ALLOWED USES
Fire and Building Code Inspector Robert West said this week that plans like the one the Latremores had proposed are allowed.
"It's considered agricultural, so I have no control over it," West said.
"Part of the land is what they call Rural Use and part is Industrial/Commercial. Anything that is considered agricultural is permitted in all zones. They can build any size building they want on a farm."
West said the buildings must be outside 50 feet from lot lines.
"That's the only control I have over it."
RESPECT ENCOURAGED
Carol LaFlesh, who has lived on the street since 1996, said she went to the Planning Board meeting to get information about the farm proposal, which eased her mind.
"Without information, there's a lot of speculation and hard feelings," she said.
"When tough times occur, we, above anything else, need the relationship of our neighborhood. And that's more valuable than anything else to me.
"For (the farm idea) or not, we need to be respectful of each other, whether they agree or not. I don't have a right to tell my neighbor what to do with their property."
Her view is shared by Pauline Fisher, a 50-year resident of Washington Avenue.
"I think that people are more up in arms because they don't really understand the situation," she said before the Latremores scrapped the plan. "It could be good, but I can see the people's point. The street was a residential street up until now. But I don't think the range-free poultry will be that much harm to the rest of the street."
CHANGE NEEDED
Gary Barcomb, another homeowner on the street and father to three young children, doesn't see any pluses. He built his house based around an expansive back yard, complete with play sets, a deck and an in-ground pool.
He was worried about his land value.
Barcomb stands firm that the area should be re-classified as a residential parcel.
"Times change. Yes, this is an old agricultural community. So was downtown Manhattan at one time. That doesn't mean I'm going to buy a parcel of land in Manhattan and put up a chicken farm."
E-mail Michelle Besaw at: mbesaw@pressrepublican.com
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