The Wicomico County Council approved a set of regulations for large chicken house operations yesterday.
The new rules call for greater setbacks, significant vegetation buffers and construction approval by the Board of Appeals for those in residential areas.
The Salisbury Daily Times reports that Council President John Cannon said that the new rules would protect health and property values for those who live in the agricultural areas.
Meanwhile, the lone dissenting vote was Ernest Davis who lives in the Naylor Mill area where a large operation is planned.
He chastised the council for their “inability to hold the poultry industry accountable.”
Davis scolded his fellow board members charging that they did not care about the health of the people in the county.
The Daily Times reports that the Concerned Citizens Against Industrial CAFO’s which wants tighter restrictions began a fundraising campaign to continue its fight over the chicken house operations.
Farmers said they were happy with the new rules and called it a good compromise.
Series
Rise of the Large Chicken House
