Wicomico poultry house ordinance classified as ’emergency’ m

houses. for months now — the idea has been considered in wicomico county. and tonight — officials are expected to vote on a zoning ordinance — related to just that. under the proposed regulations — a setback between new chicken houses and property lines would double — from one-hundred feet to two-hundred feet. they would also have a minimum opening width of sixty feet for entrances and exits onto county roads. this is a move — some say they are in support of — and would be a fair compromise between the poultry industry and residents. we think it’s a reasonable ordinance. it’s balanced, it’s fair and the listed some things that for the first time the county will be requiring and we said we can appreciate what you’ve done and we can support it as written now if passed — wicomico would join other counties including accomack and somerset — which have passed similar ordinances. but — there is new concern over just how soon the regulations would take effect. 47 a-b-c’s lili zheng joins us live from wicomico county tonight. lili — david — this is a copy of the letter delmarva poultry industry, inc. sent to the council after the last public hearing. it appears — the ordinance is being considered as an emergency measure. which delmarva poultry claims — would send the wrong message. it’s not a flooded louisiana. it’s not a hurricane or a tropical storm like we almost had over the weekend. it’s not forest fires. it’s not the toxic release of some deadly chemical from a factory. track 1 — it’s the construction of chicken houses. and according to bill satterfield — executive director of delmarva poultry industry, inc. — there’s no emergency. but that’s how a new zoning ordinance in consideration has been classified — as emergency legislation. it includes — doubling the distance between new chicken houses and private property lines — and adding plantlife as buffers. john cannon — president of the wicomico county council — says if passed it would take effect as soon as its signed. a lot of the people in the community were concerned on more houses being built…too close to their developments, and we wanted to stop that pipeline, have a definitive date where it could not be continued unless it was done under the new ordinance track 2 but satterfield worries about what calling it an emergency may do to the public perception of the poultry industry. not only will this embolden the critics of the chicken industry by saying…well, wicomico county has said it’s an emergency, it needs immediate action…42 but it also could be used as other counties make decisions track 3 however cannon tells 47 a-b-c it’s a matter of speed. the faster the council can reach a compromise — the better. i think the council is in favor of making it an emergency legislation and getting it off the table that vote is expected to happen sometime tonight at the council meeting — which kicks off at 6. we will keep you updated on that decision — both on air and online. david? alright — thank you, lili. 47 a-b-c’s lili zheng reporting live in wicomico county tonight. turning now to delaware — a federal