It is the intent of this article to provide for the continued
well-being of Northumberland County's agricultural sector by encouraging
the orderly and responsible growth of its livestock industry, including
dairy, beef, swine, horses, sheep, goats, poultry or other similar
animals, consistent with protecting water quality as required by law.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
A dwelling which is legally occupied on the date an application
for an intensive agricultural livestock operation permit is officially
filed in the office of the Zoning Administrator; or
A dwelling for which a building permit has been issued on the
date an application for an intensive agricultural livestock operation
is officially filed in the office of the Zoning Administrator; or
A dwelling which has been legally occupied for a cumulative
period of 36 months within the previous 60 months on the date an application
for an intensive agricultural livestock operation is officially filed
in the office of the Zoning Administrator.
An existing intensive livestock farming operation is one
that is already in operation on or before April 11, 1996.
A facility (as used in this chapter) with accessory uses
or structures, including feed storage bins, litter storage sites,
incinerators, manure storage sites, disposal pits and/or cold storage
chests, used in an intensive livestock farming operation.
An operation, including any enclosures, pens, feed lots, buildings
or groups of buildings, used to feed, confine, maintain or stable
the following animal types, or a combination of animal types, at any
one time:
Any combination of the categories set forth above shall be calculated
proportionately by reference to this table to determine the equivalent
number of animal units in such combination.
The owner of the livestock facility or the land on which
the facility is located.
A measured portion of land separated from other portions
of land as described by metes and bounds, or described as a separate,
discrete tract in an instrument of conveyance or devise and recorded
in the office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Northumberland
County.
The setback for an intensive agricultural livestock operation
from all existing dwellings not owned by the operator, or by a member
of the immediate family of the operator, shall be as follows:
A.
From an existing dwelling in the Agricultural A-1 District, the setback
shall be 300 feet.
B.
From an existing dwelling in an adjacent zoning district, the setback
shall be 600 feet.
C.
The operator may reduce the above setback of 600 feet to 400 feet
if he or she plants a ten-foot-wide vegetative screen that will grow
to at least six feet in height in two years, unless there is a natural
barrier that meets the height and width requirements.
D.
The setback for an intensive agricultural operation from property
lines shall be at least 300 feet.
E.
The setback for an intensive agricultural livestock operation from
public roads shall be at least 300 feet.
F.
All intensive agricultural livestock operations shall be set back
at least 2,640 feet from incorporated towns.
G.
All intensive agricultural livestock operations shall be set back
at least 1,000 feet from platted residential subdivisions, manufactured
home parks, public schools, places of worship, public recreation areas
and public or private wells and public or private water intakes.
H.
The operator may reduce the above setback of 1,000 feet to 800 feet
if he or she plants a ten-foot-wide vegetative screen that will grow
to at least six feet in height in two years, unless there is a natural
barrier that meets the height and width requirements.
Applications for an intensive agricultural livestock operation
permit shall contain the following items:
A.
One copy of an application on forms provided by Northumberland County,
completed and signed by the operator or potential operator.
B.
Three copies of a development plan prepared in accordance with the requirements of Article XV, Nonconforming Uses, § 148-156C, of this chapter. In addition to the requirements, the development plan shall indicate the number, size and location of the livestock facilities proposed for the subject parcel.
C.
Setbacks.
(1)
Three copies of a plat prepared and signed by a land surveyor
or civil engineer, licensed by the Commonwealth of Virginia, certifying
that the proposed facility meets all applicable setbacks required
by this chapter and showing the direction and distances to the following:
(2)
Any setbacks in excess of 400 feet may be scaled off of aerial
photography or other methods acceptable to the Zoning Administrator.
D.
Four copies of a nutrient management plan which provides for the
safe use or disposal of all animal waste and manure produced by each
facility.
(1)
Disposal or use shall be accomplished by means of land application
at approved locations and agronomic rates, as established by the Northern
Neck Soil and Water Conservation District, its successor and other
appropriate agencies. Alternative methods of disposal may be used
as approved by appropriate state and local agencies. The nutrient
management plan shall take the following into consideration:
(2)
The nutrient management plan shall also provide for a site,
with or without a permanent structure, for the storage of animal wastes
which shall:
(a)
Be located on the same parcel as the facility to which it is
an accessory use;
(b)
Meet the setback requirements of this article;
(c)
Be protected from the elements; and
(d)
Meet standards set by the Natural Resource Conservation Service
and approved by the Northern Neck Soil and Water Conservation District
or its successor.
(3)
Notwithstanding the requirement set forth in Subsection D(2)(a) above, if an operator is unable to locate a site on the same parcel because of insufficient acreage or topographical hardship, then the Zoning Administrator, after consultation with the Northern Neck Soil and Water Conservation District or other appropriate agency, may permit the storage site to be located on adjacent land owned by the operator; or, if a valid agreement of off-site disposal exists as provided in Subsection D(4) below, the Zoning Administrator may permit the storage site to be located on a parcel specified in the agreement for off-site disposal.
(4)
If off-site disposal is proposed, the operator shall provide,
as part of the nutrient management plan, written documentation of
an agreement with the receiver of the wastes produced at the grower's
facility. Documentation shall specify the duration of the agreement
and the nature of the application or use of the wastes. A nutrient
management plan containing such an agreement shall be valid only as
long as the agreement remains in force and shall be reviewed whenever
such an agreement expires or is terminated by either party. The grower
shall notify the Zoning Administrator whenever such an agreement is
terminated before its stated expiration date within 15 days of such
termination.
(5)
Nutrient management plans shall be subject to review and approval
by the Northern Neck Soil and Water Conservation District or other
appropriate agency. Thereafter, nutrient management plans shall be
reviewed and updated every five years by an agent of the Northern
Neck Soil and Water Conservation District or other appropriate agency
and by the Zoning Administrator. Such revisions may be required more
frequently if deemed necessary or advisable by the Northern Neck Soil
and Water Conservation District or other appropriate agency.
A.
The Zoning Administrator shall have 45 days from the date an application
is officially filed to review and approve or deny an application.
If the application is approved, one approved copy, signed by the Zoning
Administrator, shall be provided to the applicant, the Northern Neck
Soil and Water Conservation District or other appropriate agency.
One approved copy shall be retained by the County.
B.
If the submission does not meet the requirements of this chapter, the Zoning Administrator shall return the application materials to the person who submitted them, together with a written description of the deficiencies in the application. Upon the correction of deficiencies noted by the Zoning Administrator, the application may be resubmitted and reviewed in accordance with Subsection A above.
A.
The development plan shall remain valid, provided that the proposed
facilities are constructed in accordance with the approved development
plan and are placed in service in a timely manner and that the minimum
number of animals, as listed in the "intensive livestock farming operation"
definition, are located at the site within five years of the date
of approval of the development plan for the subject parcel.
B.
The operator shall notify the Zoning Administrator, in writing, within
30 days of placement into service of any facilities indicated in his
or her development plan.
C.
In the event that an operator fails to build or have in place the minimum required in Subsection A above, the Zoning Administrator shall revoke the development plan, and all future development plans of facilities on the subject parcel shall strictly conform to the requirements of this article.
D.
When such development plans have been approved and filed with the
Zoning Administrator, and during the period in which they remain in
effect, the planned facilities shall be required to meet setbacks
only from those dwellings and uses existing at the time the development
plan is approved.
A.
Replacement or reconfiguration of an intensive agricultural livestock
operation in operation as of the effective date of this article but
which does not meet the requirements of this chapter may be permitted,
provided that:
(1)
Such facilities were properly permitted under previous zoning
regulations.
(2)
There is no increase in the square footage devoted to the livestock
operation on the parcel and no increase in the number of livestock
kept on the parcel houses kept on the parcel at any one time.
(3)
Replacement facilities do not encroach upon any setbacks required
under this chapter to a greater extent than the facilities being replaced.
(4)
A development plan is obtained.
(5)
A nutrient management plan is obtained.
B.
Existing facilities approved by the County prior to the effective
date of this article shall have a nutrient management plan on file
with the Zoning Administrator not later than two years from the effective
date of this article or at such time as an additional area devoted
to livestock raising, including housing, litter storage, manure storage,
disposal of dead birds or other activity which would increase nutrient
output of the facility, is placed into service on the same parcel,
whichever shall occur first. After two years from the effective date
of this article, no facility subject to this article shall operate
without such a nutrient management plan.
C.
Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, an operator whose
facilities were approved by the County and in operation prior to the
effective date of this article, in attempting to comply with the requirement
to provide a litter storage site within two years of the adoption
of this article, may locate an animal waste storage site within any
setback otherwise required in this article upon satisfaction that
the storage site will not encroach upon setbacks to a greater extent
than the existing facility.
