A previous decision to grant a zoning permit to a Mahoning Township business for a fence has been overruled.

After a brief executive session, the township’s zoning hearing board on Thursday granted the appeal of attorney Holly Heintzelman and overturn the July 9 decision and July 21 decision granting of a zoning permit for approximate 600 feet of 4-foot high fence located at 124 Mahoning Drive East.

The zoning hearing board met on an application by attorney Holly Heintzelman, who appealed the zoning officer’s decision to grant a permit for a fence at the former Heintzelman’s Meat Market.

Heintzelman was appealing the July 9 decision by the zoning officer to approve a permit for about 600 feet of 4-foot-tall fencing at 124 Mahoning Drive East, next to her home.

She argued the permit was issued in error, citing an ordinance requiring corrals and outdoor animal confinement areas to be at least 200 feet from property lines or road rights of way. The installed fence, she said, is less than 20 feet from the line.

No one from Alif Farms LLC, the property owner, attended Thursday’s zoning hearing board meeting.

Township zoning officer Steven Wanner was the first witness to testify during the hearing.

Wanner said Alif Farms LLC provided him with a plan for odor abatement and for waste disposal.

He said he then issued a continuance of illegal nonconforming use permit due to the way it was presented to him.

Attorney Robert Yurchak, who represented Heintzelman, asked Wanner if he’s aware that a slaughterhouse is not a permitted use in that zoning district.

Wanner said he was led to believe by the previous owners that it was, and that the odor abatement plan appeared to be acceptable.

In relation to the fence, he said he had not gotten a complaint aside from its location.

Testimony

Yurchak then called Heintzelman as the next witness to testify.

Heintzelman said she never received any notification, except for the fence, and asked the owner to move it back, but he told her he had all the proper permits.

“He just kept telling me he had all the permits he needed and (he knew) what he was doing and I should just go away,” Heintzelman said.

Heintzelman then produced pictures of goats inside the fence from around June 7.

The fence was up after the slaughterhouse permit was issued, said Heintzelman, who noted she had previously counted 100 goats, and added, “I know there were 176, because the gentleman who delivered them (to Alif Farms LLC) told me.”

Heintzelman said their property is not big enough to accommodate that many goats. Further, she testified that the owner has fenced in her water line, and as a result, she cannot get to it because there is now a gate and a fence there.

She said that last Wednesday, they backed up a box truck to the back door at the butcher shop, wheeled out barrels, dumped it into the box truck, and that when she went out of her house, she held her nose “because it smelled bad.”

“This property is sloped, and when the goats eat the grass, I’m going to get all that dirt and water, and to the extent there’s goat feces, I’m going to get all of that,” Heintzelman said.

Township zoning hearing board solicitor Matthew Schnell then recalled Wanner due to a survey map that was presented that shows the fence over the property line and asked Wanner if he would have saw it, would he have granted a permit for the fence, to which Wanner answered that he would not have.

The hearing was then open to public comment. Nearby resident Todd Wingert said that what Heintzelman testified about the dates on the fence was true, as well as her assertion that there was hundreds of goats.

Wingert said that due to the smell from the operation, he put in traps and found four rats, noting he has lived at his property since 1982 and never had them since until the garbage bags were piled up that may have drawn them.

As a result, he said there is now a rat infestation throughout the neighborhood.

Afterward, the zoning hearing board went into a brief executive session before returning to make its ruling.

After a brief executive session, the zoning hearing board returned to announce its ruling in the ongoing controversy.

The dispute stems from a June 10 violation issued by LTL Consultants, the township’s code enforcement officer, citing livestock kept on-site, an unpermitted fence, and slaughter operations conducted without a required waste disposal plan, odor abatement plan, or Agriculture Department approval. Each violation could carry fines of up to $500 plus court costs and attorney fees.

Operations

Alif Farms, which advertises halal slaughtering services and live animal sales, had 30 days to appeal the violation. The property is owned by Alif Farms LLC, while Alif Meat Packing LLC operates the facility. Permits were previously granted on Sept. 23 and Dec. 12 of last year.

Residents have repeatedly voiced concerns. At recent meetings, neighbor Carol Etheridge said people toured the site and confirmed animals were being slaughtered and sold there, not just processed. Another resident, David Wingert, said the business owners are “not very good neighbors.”

Supervisor Kim Heintzelman questioned whether Alif Farms had submitted the required waste and odor control plans. “They are well past compliance,” she said, asking if fines would be imposed. Township Solicitor Tom Nanovic said the zoning officer would provide an update.

Attorney Adrian Cousens of Gross McGinley, representing Alif Farms, told supervisors that animals would no longer be stored overnight in the white barn on-site. However, neighbors later presented video showing animals being moved from the barn on Aug. 7. Nanovic said he would review the footage and share it with Cousens.

Residents also complained that Alif Farms’ trucks sometimes block Route 902 and the entrance to the Gypsy Hill Apartments. Cousens said the company is adding fencing and screening, and noted that USDA inspectors must be present during slaughter operations.