There is a proposed business park that is going in basically right next to the chicken houses. A Baltimore-based developer plans to bring a new commercial business park along the corridor of the Route 50 bypass at Naylor Mill Road in Salisbury. Kraus Properties, LLC. purchased the 26.35 acre parcel along Route 50 from SVN-Miller Commercial Real Estate. The land is being planned for a highway commercial park, targeting commercial, service and industrial uses.
The City of Salisbury, along with the developers, look to bring convenience stores, hotels, and restaurants to the business park. That being said, this developer might not realize that his brand new businesses are about to be surrounded by a whole lot of stink--not good for hotels, restaurants, etc!
We are in the process on contacting Mr. Kraus now to let him know- Also, if the city stretches their limits, the chicken houses will automatically affect their income (because there is a possibility Mr. Kraus might not want to build anymore)- I don't think Jake Day will be very happy about that.
I am hearing a large scale chicken farm may be built on land on longridge rd across from Wor-Wic on 2 parcels
ReplyDeleteFor us who live on North West Road and White Lowe Road, we are screwed either way! Maybe I could get one or the other to buy my house since it is now new prime business real estate. Moved here 27 years ago because it was a nice quit place in the country. Not that way anymore since the Royal Farms opened.
ReplyDeleteSince the intersection is an adventure to cross, I usually take Log Cabin road to North West Road to get to work. Maybe now they will put a light at this intersection. There are already too many accidents and fatalities at this intersection. How will they handle the increased congestion?
Will not matter to them. Have you ever been to down town Baltimore?
ReplyDeleteI must have missed something: what's wrong with chicken houses?
ReplyDeleteYeah. What's wrong with chicken houses or new commercial developments? Why does it seem like this site highlights everything negative and fights against anything positive in this community?
ReplyDelete9:44, That's a pretty harsh comment. For what it's worth, does every home on your block look exactly the same. Same color, same address, same everything?
ReplyDeleteYou come off as someone who gets upset whenever anyone disagrees with you. That's why I'm wondering if every home on your block looks the same because I think that's the only way you'd be happy in life, if everything goes your way.
Look, ALL of you need to learn to agree to disagree. Really, it will make your lives so much better. Agree To Disagree.
Not following your view that chicken houses should not be built on ag zoned land because everything will look the same, saying "does every home on your block look exactly the same. Same color, same address, same everything?"
DeleteIn my opinion, you are comparing apples to oranges. It makes no sense to compare a residential neighborhood to chicken houses on ag zoned land. Are you aware a farm generally has one 911 address. On our farm of 428 acres, with our home, 2 barns, 6 poultry houses, workshop 4 grain solos and several sheds, we only have one 911 address, as opposed to a different address for each building. Adjoining our farm on the west side are 14 condo type apartment buildings. All look alike, a sand color, either one or two stories, and each having a different 911 number. Never give it a thought, until today, they must be poultry houses for people because every resident looks the same.
My "come here" neighbor had ag zoned farmland changed to residential. We both are hunters. This Pennsylvania native got upset with me for shooting a 12 point buck that ran out of his woodland, across his farm field, than across my farm field to the edge of my woodland and stopped near my deer stand. His logic was it was his deer because it was in his woods. Don't you just love it when "come heres" arrive to enjoy the slow eastern shore style of living and start making cityfied changes. Of course these city folks believe they are smarter, wiser and of a higher class than “those eastern shore idiots”.
In your opinion, 9:44 made a "harsh comment. IMO this was not a comment but a question. Using the word “why” makes it a question. Your answer was "does every home on your block look exactly the same. Same color, same address, same everything?” So I will repeat the 9:44 question ”Why does IT SEEM (to me and 9:44) like this site highlights everything negative and fights against anything positive in this community?”
9:41 believe me my chicken houses have not reduced the value of those “people poultry condos” next door. The property taxes increased greatly on the property. A large scale poultry farm will also increase the tax base as each building will be taxed.
Our city, county and state officials choose to give land to the government . All that land comes off the tax roll causing our property taxes to go up…up…up.
9:44 obvious by your comment these chicken houses are not in your back yard.
ReplyDeleteAhhhhh.......a NIMBY. Look at the right to farm legislation in your county. Oh I can see the responses to this comment......."but these are commercial chicken houses"....., news flash.....ALL chicken houses are commercial in the same way that ALL farms are commercial. Unless of course the owners only intend to grow what they can eat themselves. Everyone wants to eat chicken but no one wants to have a chicken house within nose shot of their house. When you move to rural USA you know what you're signing up for.
DeleteHappens all the time... progress moves outward.... I wish more would move towards Parsonsburg and the East side of the county. Growth is always good.
ReplyDeleteProperty is zoned for Ag. End of discussion!
ReplyDelete9:52. I'm not upset at all. Just making an observation. I could be wrong but it seems to me that recent posts seem to be opposed to the potential new commercial development and now this post discusses informing the potential buyer that there might be a big smelly chicken farm nearby. This is the Eastern Shore. There are not many places that don't have chicken houses nearby. Just don't understand the motives here. And since you asked, my home sits on about 4 acres of land and doesn't look anything like the house down the road. No block here.
ReplyDeleteI am a farmer and a chicken farmer and these operations bother me.not to mention they are owned by foreigners and most likely get special loans at our expense
ReplyDeleteIf the land for the proposed chicken houses is zoned agricultural, what is the legitimate basis for opposition to the chicken houses? That some people don't like the way some farmers farm, even if they farm legally?
ReplyDeleteFunny how it's a big deal now, as it's in affluent Wicomico County. When it was Somerset, even those of us who grew up on farms were seen as opposing farming, as if the large commercial chicken house properties can be compared to the family farm I grew up on.
ReplyDelete"Affluent Wicomico County" ????
DeleteThats the funniest sh*t Ive heard all week !!
I'd rather have the chicken houses than a mess of Section 8 apartments built on that land. No, it's not in my back yard, it's actually the view from my front yard.
ReplyDeleteWestwood Park is waaaay below 50% developed, & there are plenty of vacancies in Northwood. Manufacturing has been moving OUT, not in. Putting chicken houses here which is basically downwind of the City and a big growing industry on the shore should work out fine.
ReplyDeleteLet's face it chicken houses, farming and working on the water is what DELMARVA is all about. You want residential or restricted zoning move across the bay!
ReplyDeleteTake a drive east down Snow Hill Road just prior to Airport Road and look at the construction of five chicken houses. The site work that is currently under construction looks beyond reasonable.
ReplyDelete1014, I think the only thing the East side needs is a high school. Other than that is it just fine the way it is.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is they affect neighboring property values. A house within about a 1/2 mi. radius of a chicken house is worth about $100,000 less than one about 1mi away radius. I actually know of a couple who moved here from the western shore who wanted acreage for a horse farm and were willing to pay about $300,000 more for a place with a house that was badly in need of repair than to live in a place that was much nicer but had chicken houses next door. The place near the chicken houses never sold even though had it been in an area away from the houses they could have gotten great money for it. The worst is that the house was there first. This is a major reason for the eastern shore's blight. People who have money and plenty of it are buying farmland for unheard of prices in other areas and moving that don't have these monstrosities in their back yard. Like parts of VA (fauquier, louden counties) PA (york, lancaster and chester). Even parts of WV like Falling Waters, Martinsburg are looking good and prospering these days. These are the people you want. They have deep pockets and spend money. They don't paint their own homes they hire painters. Their wealth trickles down and economies bounce back.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing manure sheds should be put in the middle of the chicken farm owners property and not allowed to be anywhere need property line.
The fact stands that ANY area where there are concentrated factory farm operations has never ever prospered and just gets further and further into blight. Fact.
LOL 9:07 "Everyone wants to eat chicken but no one wants to have a chicken house within nose shot of their house"
ReplyDeleteNot everyone. I feel for those who are stuck eating that crap. I won't even allow my dog to eat it. It's those chicken dressed and ready to cook that stink. They smell putrid. Then when you cook them it it's swimming in some kind of gross liquid that is not fat. Go and get your self a real free range chicken and cook that up. Until then you are not living only existing.
I agree with 9:07
ReplyDeleteRight to farm legislation applies to all agriculture land
If you don't like the smells of farming don't buy or build your
House on ag land
There is plenty of land and houses available within the city limits
of Salisbury or towns like Willards,Hebron,Sharptown etc
What does the comprehensive plan say about this use? The point has been raised by others that it's not really farming, rather industrial due to the scale.
ReplyDelete10:01, I wasn't trying to compare anything of the sort.
ReplyDeleteI was simply trying to state that you need to learn to agree to disagree.
You are certainly welcome to your opinion, I think that's great. However, people need to make an attempt to accept laws and regulations already in place.
You have every right to contact your legislators to see if they are willing to make changes.
For now, the rules are the rules. There are many laws out there I disagree with, seriously. However, when you speak to these legislators you'd be blown away at the thousands of proposed changes that are already in their laps for this session as newly proposed laws.
Unlike the rest of the media, SBYNews gives you a place to vent, to agree or disagree. We can only do so much. Your legislators are actually pretty decent people and they do listen. Carl Anderton is a good start. He is very open minded.
Joe
ReplyDeleteCan you obtain and post a copy of the right to farm legislation?
Also, when building or buying a house in ag land when do you sign off
that you acknowledge this legislation
Thanks
The problem is the land may be zoned agriculture ***now*** but only because they watered down(?) bastardized(?) the term to include factory farming operations. Most areas consider these types of operations industrial.
ReplyDeleteYes and it is a fact that no one can dispute, factory farming does nothing for an economy other than drag it down, create blight and with that comes crime. The funny thing is even China won't allow this. We are letting our land become toxic waste dumps to feed the world all for the benefit of a few. It's a shame so many people could care less about their own children's future. A damn shame.
10:34
ReplyDeleteIs that you John Grout?
Or is it Mike Pretzel?
No 10:53. I don't even have a clue as to who they are. What I can tell you is that I am well in tune with real estate-residential but mostly commercial in a multi state area, and I know what and what doesn't affect land and home/building values and the economy in general. So once and for all the FACT stands, without any doubt, that factory farming operations, without fail, turn an area into a waste land of blight and poverty. They drag and pull an economy down-always and without fail-always and WITHOUT fail. And this is a FACT. You can try and deny until you are blue in the face but well informed people know better.
ReplyDelete"believe me my chicken houses have not reduced the value of those “people poultry condos” next door. The property taxes increased greatly on the property. A large scale poultry farm will also increase the tax base as each building will be taxed."
ReplyDeleteI have to disagree because I've had first hand experience with what a farm is worth minus no poultry growers in sight.
It's been a few years ago and we were contacted by a Virginia attorney on behalf of private individuals who wanted to purchase our couple of hundred acres which wasn't ever for sale. They offered us one million. We were not interested but they persisted. The story was the family lived in Middleburg VA and have a beach home in Bethany.
The wife and daughters wanted to spend summers at the beach but also wanted a farm close by where they could also keep some of their horses. They loved Easton but too far to drive to Bethany and back.
The next offer came in at one million plus they would buy us any other farm we wanted. I asked why they don't just buy another place.
Answer was: They didn't want to be anywhere near a chicken farm. First time I'd ever heard of a CAFO. The lawyer said the lower Eastern Shore farm land would be worth a fortune if not for the chicken farms.
The lawyer insisted so we agreed to look at other farms for sale. He came down and had made arrangements to look at place with realtors. We still aren't interested in selling. A few weeks later he asked if we would meet with him at an OC hotel conference room. We agreed. At this meeting he said if we find something anything and it's not for sale the family will make all attempts to purchase it for us plus the million. Again we said no we weren't interested.
The meeting was over and we weren't a mile down the road, cell phone rang, the offer was now 6 million. Thankfully we've been blessed and we are in a position where we don't need any more money so our piece of Heaven here on earth is worth more to us, so we once again declined.
We never met the family but I did google them and while I won't say who they are they are big into the polo playing scene and are huge philanthropists and sit in chairs on a few corporations and many non profits. The father/husband was then, when I googled the CEO of a well known corp and was making just over 17 million/year then. Every year for about 4 years we received a letter from the lawyer right about now asking us if we wanted to sell and to let him know if we ever were.
It must be tough on them being told no. Good for you. Not everything comes with a price tag, a lesson they are learning.
Delete10:26 the right to farm basically is signing away your right to sue over anything pertaining to farming i.e. smells, noise, etc. It's not just when you purchase a property zoned agricultural but any property purchase including one in Ocean City in Worcester. Right to Farm is a county thing and the county adopts the law and any property within the county is subject.
ReplyDeleteThe original intent was good. It was to protect small real true family farms from nuisance lawsuits but has become somewhat of a shield and is being misued by factory farms and Big Agribusiness.
Big Agribusiness like Matt Holloway runs?
Delete12:51
ReplyDeleteFacts please!
Specific places where this "Blight" has taken place
Thought so
ReplyDeleteNo response from 12:51
Just some BS lideral tree hugger
Is that you Kathy????..
Let's not hide the name of the sellers of the farm property by only mentioning the realtors. S&H Farms is owned by Ralph and Sharon Harcum. If you are unhappy about the sale of the property for a business park (read retail and service jobs: more minimum wage jobs for those wealthy Wicomico residents!) or for an industrial chicken farm, then feel free to contact them at (410) 742-8707. Please give them a call, they want to hear from you.
ReplyDeleteThe Harcums don't own that property, they lease the land from the owner to farm Get your facts straight before you go causing problems for people that work hard to make a living. Looks like you have enough time on your hands to instigate why don't you put those hands in the dirt and grow something besides trouble.
DeleteYes, chicken farmers really are farmers, not industrialists.
ReplyDeleteEver see a chicken farm in Gary, Indiana? Or in Detroit?
And it's not like chicken farmers moved to Delmarva last night. We've been here a lot longer than the refugees from the big cities, who by the way knew full well that chicken farmers were here when they made their great escape.
The Harcums did not own the property,they were leasing it
ReplyDeleteIt was owned by the famous Hazel family(Pepsi)
3:05 The lower shore and on into Accomack County you dumb dumb. There is no other rural area within a 150mi radius of the Balto/DC/Philly corridor that is more depressed. Even Morgantown WV over 3 hrs away is becoming a suburb of DC and home values are higher there then in Sby. The difference is people want bucolic. They don't want stench and industrialized farms. They want real family farms and and whoever thinks chicken houses are family farms needs to get out and see how it is in the real world. The shame of it all is that the growth has stopped at Easton. If not for the wastelands created on the shore the economies would be booming from the Bay Bridge to the ocean resorts.
ReplyDeleteI seriously have no idea how anyone can stomach factory farms meats. They are disgusting. We've always called that liquid that comes out of a factory farmed chicken after cooked "Poop Soup" and what it is is the liquid that is absorbed in the chicken (turkeys too) when they are dumped in a chilling tank after slaughter.
ReplyDeleteAccording to the USDA here's what it is: "Poultry is not injected with water, but some water is absorbed during cooling in a chill-tank, a large vat of cold, moving water. The chill-tank lowers the temperature of the slaughtered birds and their giblets (hearts, livers, gizzards, etc.). During this water chilling process, turkeys and chickens will absorb some of the water, and this amount must be prominently declared on the label. It is not unusual for poultry to declare 8 to 12% retained water on the label."
10:57 is right on. As far as WV Hardy Co which isn't as far out from DC as other WV counties is severely depressed. Guess what-home to Pilgrims Pride and lots of CAFO's. There's also a place in VA where PP's operated and decided to close down. The area has already gone from good to bad to worst with PP in existence. The growers for PP decided to get together and with USDA loans buy the plant and started an independent slaughter house. This area of VA has bounced back like never before and much much better than the supposed jobs PP's brought in.
ReplyDelete