Rural residents claim ag storage looks like 'junkyard'

By JoAn Bjarko
North Forty News

Rural homeowners are calling on Larimer County Commissioners to intervene in a dispute over traditional storage of farm equipment and contentions that a farm property has become an eyesore.

Former residents of North County Road 17, Dr. Andrew and Debi Hughes, have requested a public hearing to determine if Grant Family Farms is violating the county zoning code by storing old equipment, tires, barrels and unused farm and household materials adjacent to their residential property.

The Hugheses, who left Larimer County in January 2009, said they have been unable to sell their home because of a "massive accumulation of junk" next door. Six of their neighbors also signed a petition asking for the county's help to get the storage yard moved out of view.

Farm owner Andy Grant responded in an interview that the equipment yard has been there 40 years, and there are no plans to move it.

County Commissioner Lew Gaiter and planning director Linda Hoffmann visited the property in June. In a June 25 letter to the Hugheses, Hoffmann said she had determined Grant Family Farms' "items stored outside on the property are equipment, materials and supplies used in the farming operation." She noted that agricultural operations are exempted from some provisions of the land-use code related to junkyards and rubbish.

Hoffmann also wrote that planners rely on guidance from the county's Right to Farm Policy and Code of the West.

In response, the Hugheses appealed Hoffmann's decision and a public hearing has been set for Aug. 16, 6:30 p.m., at the courthouse offices building in downtown Fort Collins.

The Hugheses purchased the property at 12320 N. County Road 17 northwest of Wellington in 2006. The six-acre lot is part of the Diamond Farms Rural Land Use Plan, which was approved through a subdivision process that promotes residential development around active agricultural operations.

In telephone interviews, the Hugheses said the adjacent farmland was used to store operable farm implements when they bought the property, but problems got worse after they moved and left their home vacant.

The equipment yard has not grown in size since the Hugheses moved away, Grant countered; instead, the farm has removed some materials and relocated school buses used for farm tours.

"We're not anti-farm at all...Regular farm equipment is fine," said Debi Hughes, contending that the accumulation has become hazardous and is preventing the sale of their home.

"It's littered with what you and I would pay the County of Larimer to deposit in the landfill," said Andrew Hughes.

The Hugheses said they have spent more than $20,000 on trees and a 900-foot fence to screen the storage yard, but would-be buyers still consider it an eyesore.

Grant said he provided free labor to plant the trees and let the Hugheses build the fence on farm property. "The problem isn't our equipment yard," Grant said. "The problem is properties around here are not selling."

The house has been on the market for 20 months, and the Hugheses have reduced their original asking price by $50,000.

Before the hearing, a planning staff report will be available online at www.larimer.org/boards/minutes/bccluagenda.htm