Homeowners vs. hogs: How close is too close to a town?
Nearly two-thirds of Iowa’s population now live in urban areas, the census shows, up from about half 60 years ago.
By Donnelle Eller
Des Moines
Nov 1, 2020
Excerpt:
The battle over where thousands of pigs should be housed has been waged mainly across rural Iowa. But Manchester resident Leo Monaghan says the fight is moving to the state’s cities and towns, and urban residents have few weapons in the contest.
Monaghan, a former City Council member in the northeast Iowa city of 5,000, said he was shocked to learn an area farmer can build a 2,499-head hog facility less than a mile outside the city’s boundaries, even though Manchester had planned for residential development in the area.
Cities can impose zoning restrictions as far as 2 miles outside their boundaries. But those rules don’t apply to concentrated animal feeding operations — called CAFOs — as long as they comply with state-required distances from homes, schools, parks, rivers, wells and other important waterways and structures.
“There are no laws that protect urban homeowners,” said Monaghan, a small business owner who’s easing toward retirement. A developer who wants to build homes near Manchester would need the city’s approval, he said. But “there are no similar restrictions or rules on confinements. … It’s legal but it’s not right.”
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