NEWS

Fight over massive egg-laying operation continues

John Hult
jhult@argusleader.com

PARKER – - A Turner County judge could alter the fate of a proposed 6-million hen egg-laying operation this week by forcing a re-write of the county’s zoning law.

The Sonstegard Foods proposal drew heavy criticism from Parker-area landowners and community activists after plans were officially announced in February. They worried about the potential environmental impacts, the odors and the proximity to the Parker – just over two miles.

They also accused the owner, Peter Sonstegard, of manipulating the county’s zoning rules to make it easier to site the massive agricultural development so close to the city.

Several of landowners sued the company and the county in mid-February, saying a fax from Sonstegard on animal unit calculations and property setbacks was incorporated into the county’s revamped zoning ordinance without publishing notice of the change or offering an opportunity for public comment.

Both sides in the lawsuit agree on the basic facts – Sonstegard sent the fax the day before the final vote, some of the figures were added at the ordinance’s second reading, and the county commission added the changes without sending them back to the planning commission for review.

The defendants say they followed the law, that the last-minute alterations were not significant enough to send back to the planning commission, and that the egg-laying barns could have been placed at the planned location even without the change.

At 2 p.m. Thursday, the case goes before a judge on Thursday in Parker for the first time, after months of depositions and legal filings. The landowners are asking for summary judgment.

A win for the landowners would overturn the county’s zoning ordinance. A win for the defendants would keep the law on the books.

Either side would have an opportunity to appeal the judge’s decision.