Agenda - Planning Commission - 12/06/2007

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i' )' \"- November 1, 20071 Volume 11 No. 21 ) The appeals court found that the right-to-farm law had no ap- plication in this case. A subsection of the law provided that: "[a]gricultural activities conducted on farmland, if ... established prior to surrounding nonagricultural activities, [were] presumed to be reasonable and [did] not constitute a nuisance, public or private." Reading the law in its entirety, the court .found that its intent was to keep preexisting agricultural activities from being subject to lawsuits for nuisance when nonagricultural activities took over an area. Nei- ther the city, nor its residents, had sued Bice to abate a nuisance; the city simply adopted an ordinance prohibiting anyone from maintain- ing livestock in the city. With regard to Bice's contention that his use of the land was en- titled to the zoning principle of nonconforming use, the court noted that general law provided that zoning regulations "[should] not ap- ply to the existing use of any building or land." Under that provi- sion, nonconforming uses could generally continue, though any ex- pansion or enlargement of the pre-existing use is subject to the new zoning regulation. But the court found that the "essence of zoning [was] to create zones or districts within which certain activities mayor may not take place." While zoning 'laws were created to "promote the public health, safety, and welfare," the existence of a zoning authority did not negate a city's police power to enact other citywide ordinances promoting the same goals. It was within the city's authority to enact an ordinance limiting the keeping of animals within its boundaries. The appeals court agreed with the lower court's finding that the ordinance fell under the city's general police-power authority. There was no error in the lower court's decision; Bice was subject to the new ordinance. \ , (~) See also: Hearn v. City of Overland Park, 244 Kan. 638, 772 P.2d ' 758, 80 A.L.RAth 51 (1989). Junkyard-Tenant argues ordinance restricting number of unregistered vehicles on property unconstitutional More than 50 unlicensed vehicles found on property he rented Citation: Town of Mosel v. Hodgell, 2007 WL 2848125 (Wis. Ct. App. 2007) WISCONSIN (10/03/07)-Hodgellleased property in the town of Mosel. At the inception of the lease, the landlord tQld Hodgell that 7 43