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Analysis Background The property was previously used as a poultry farm for the production of eggs. It has been abandoned for approximately three years. Currently, there exists three poultry houses. The houses are located approximately 47 feet from the western property line and 51 feet from the eastern property line. The minimum setback requirement for poultry houses is 100 feet. The applicant is requesting that the existing setbacks be retained so he will not have to relocate or remove the structures to operate his business. The applicant claims that if the Variance application is denied, it would not be feasible to operate the business at this location, since half the area needed to raise the chickens would have to be removed. Currently, the chicken houses are filled with hundreds of cages that were used in the previous operation to house the egg laying chickens. The applicant is proposing to remove all these cages, since the chickens that are to be raised would be fryers and not egg layers. Fryer chickens do not require cages. Instead, they are raised on the floor area of the poultry houses, where they are free to interact with other chickens. The applicant has proposed to cover the entire floor area with soil and then cover the soil with rice hull shavings. This is a common practice in the field of fryer chicken raising. There will be two full- time employees operating the facility seven days a week from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Policy Considerations In order to approve a Variance, specific findings must be made in the affirmative. The Community Development Department has been able to make all three findings in the affirmative and has included them in the staff report. Neighborhood Ooaosition The property is surrounded on all sides by orchards, two of which contain residences. Staff has received three letters, one containing 39 signatures, of surrounding property owners in opposition to the project. Copies of these letters have been included in the staff report. Reasons for their opposition include flies, odor, lack of upkeep of the facilities, weeds, fire hazards, and past broken promises to improve the property. The neighbors are requesting that the Variance and Site Approval both be denied. As previously mentioned, the applicant proposes to bring in rice hull shavings to cover the floor area and serve as litter absorbent. According to the applicant, dry litter creates a virtually fly and odor free environment due to the lack of moisture necessary for the propagation of maggots. The chicken excrement bonds to the rice hull shavings and subsequently dries. Then, the dry litter will be collected from the poultry houses and stored in a vacant area to the north of the houses. New layers of rice hull shavings replace the removed shavings. Once a month a commercial spreader will come to the farm and collect the dried litter and haul it away in a truck. Building Requirements Since the chicken houses are currently in a state of disrepair, the Community Development Department has required that the applicant have the structures inspected by an engineer or architect and make all the necessary repairs to meet the standards required by the County. San Joaquin County VR-99-2, SA-99-53\Kahn Community Development Page 3