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Chicken barn getting Maple Ridge neighbours in a flap

Residents start Facebook page, consider a petition.
82031mapleridgechicken.c
Andrew Pozsar circulated a flier outlining his plans to build a two-storey chicken barn on his property near 250th Street

All Andrew Pozsar wants is to do is what he’s legally allowed to do with any piece of farmland, located within the Agricultural Land Reserve.

But he’d really like the neighbours to be OK with it.

Last week, he circulated a piece of paper to about 230 nearby homes, outlining his plans to build a two-storey chicken barn on his property near 250th Street, north of Dewdney Trunk Road.

He’s also spoken to the principals of Garibaldi secondary and Blue Mountain elementary.

“I want to do this, but I want do it only if I have neighbourhood support,” Pozsar said. “I don’t want to do it and be the bad neighbour.”

He’d like to get 75 per cent of the neighbours supporting the project.

Pozsar, who grew up on a poultry farm, wants to build a 20,000-sq.-ft. chicken barn that will produce 25,000 fully grown chickens every 54 days. They will then be shipped out for processing. There will be noise and odour, Pozsar acknowledges that.

But he hopes that by being open about his proposal that people will come to accept his plans.

David O’Reilly’s house would be about 30 metres from the barn, as would several others along 122nd Avenue.

“I really don’t know if his plan is to do something or not. People are extremely upset about this,”  O’Reilly said.

“It would be unlivable. It’s hard to even imagine that any one would consider putting it into a residential area.”

Blue Mountain elementary is only a block away, O’Reilly points out.

He’d welcome a town hall meeting and said those on the “Stop the Chicken Farm" Facebook page are considering a petition.

He added that there are people in the area who have breathing concerns, such as asthma.

If Pozsar had to pay for the costs of the impacts to the area, it wouldn’t be profitable, O’Reilly added.

Pozsar said he’s compiling responses both for and against his proposal, then will release the results later.

“What I would love to do is have a town hall meeting. People are circulating rumours that are absolutely not true.”

If he has a town hall meeting where people can ask questions, “I think I can turn their minds around. Certainly, I would like the mayor to be there.”

Pozsar has checked extensively with the city, which has told him there’s nothing stopping him from setting up a poultry operation. However, he’d still have to get a building permit from the city.

If he decides to go ahead, he’d also have to buy quota from the B.C. Chicken Marketing Board.

He’d like to start construction this May and have chickens in the new building by next December.

He says developing the property as a chicken operation is more profitable than developing the property.

“Being a chicken farmer is very profitable.”

He also said he’ll follow industry standards and minimize impacts.

Still, some days there will be more dust, noise and odour.

“There’s no way to control odour.”

The smell of the chicken manure would circulate within about a kilometre radius and some days there would be a smell and some days there wouldn’t.

“We hope you can overlook these minor things and support farming in our community,” he said on the leaflet.

The operation would be cage free.

He points out that a chicken barn is all part of farming activity that’s protected under provincial legislation, the Farm Practices Protection Act.

“It’s my right to do it and I don’t have to ask anybody. I want to be a good neighour.”

Pozsar said ministry of agriculture visited the location and said that the site was adequate for a chicken operation, while the B.C. Chicken Marketing Board advised against it. Representatives from both agencies suggested that he consult with neighbours about his plans.

“All I want is just an honest answer: will you support agriculture in our area? But there will be pros and cons.”

He can grow food locally and hire people, but there will be cons, such as noise, dust, odour.

“There is no such thing as a clean farm operation. But there will be flies, there will be rats, there will be noise and what not. This is part of normal farming practice.”

He said that the Farm Industry Review Board can investigate complaints about farms and order farmers to make changes or even shut down a farm.

Pozsar said his plan is not a ruse as part of a scheme to get the land out of the ALR.

“If anybody thinks this is a decoy … nothing could be further from the truth. I want to do it.”