Some Scio-area residents on Tuesday, Feb. 22, asked the Linn County Board of Commissioners to oppose construction of a large-scale poultry operation about eight miles east of the city.
This second of three proposed facilities, they said, would feature 16 buildings measuring 60-by-600 feet, where about 750,000 chickens would mature every four months.
Area resident Linda Duman outlined her neighbors’ concerns, including:
— Water quality due to the proposed facility’s location near Thomas Creek.
— Water quantity. According to Duman, the facility could use more than 50,000 gallons of water per day. Neighbors worried about the potential impact on the local aquifer and drinking-water wells.
— The fire danger presented by the buildings, which are to be situated near both grass seed fields and timber stands.
— Air quality, especially since the buildings would be near a school, church and area homes.
Kendra Kimbirauskas, who owns a farm downstream from the proposed location, addressed her water-quality concerns. If all three facilities were eventually built-out, she said, 44 large buildings within a 12-mile radius of one another could produce millions of chickens annually.
Multigenerational Scio farm-family member Christina Eastman spoke against the idea of buildings covering prime agricultural ground. She was also concerned about what potential water pollution might do to spawning steelhead and salmon, as well as the overall air quality’s effects on her 84-year-old mother.
Board Chair Roger Nyquist said he appreciated the public comments, but commissioners lacked authority under the state’s land-use laws, specifically regarding agriculturally zoned areas. Fellow commissioners Sherrie Sprenger and Will Tucker echoed his comments.
The speakers asked the board to contact state officials and oppose the project based on air- and water-quality concerns. Sprenger, who previously served in the state Legislature, offered to help them connect with representatives and senators. Nothing could likely be done in the current short session, she said, but the issue could be addressed in 2023.
In other business, the commissioners:
— Heard from Sweet Home Community Development Director Blair Larsen regarding progress at the former Weyerhaeuser/Willamette Industries mill site, a county-owned, three-acre piece of property set to be transferred to the Lebanon-based Family Assistance & Resource Center Group for use as a homeless encampment.
— Approved Julie Moore’s application for a zoning-map amendment on a one-third-acre-sized property on Cascade Drive near Lebanon. She requested it be rezoned from Urban Growth Area -Commercial to Urban Growth Area-Rural Residential. She plans to develop a drop-in facility for people with disabilities.
— Were informed by Juvenile Department Director Torri Lynn of 23 January referrals and 176 Probation Unit youth, 48 of whom are high-risk. He said a heavy-equipment training program will begin this week with 11 youth training on five pieces of equipment.
– Alex Paul, Linn County Communications Officer