A judge is considering new evidence in a feed lot controversy tonight. Holden Farms is building a feed lot ten miles south of Austin that will hold eventually up to five-thousand hogs. The company bought the land from Lowell Franzen. Franzen also works for Mower County. Neighbors claim he used his position to get the needed permits to build the confinement operation. The court ruled last month there was no foul play.
What neighbors want now is to have zoning and feedlot permits for the project revoked. Nearly twenty neighbors packed an Austin court room Wednesday. They're already sick of the smell they say is being created by their newest neighbor; A feed lot in Lyle.
"The summer is going to tell the story. Ninety percent of our summer air comes from the south," said neighbor Tim Carroll. The neighbor’s lawyer says it shouldn't have gone up in the first place. He believes the way the permits were obtained was illegal.
"With his own office, with his own emails on business time to obtain a permit in his own name for a project he had already sold," said the neighbor’s attorney Jim Peters.
Wednesday in court Peters showed the judge how Lowell Franzen first obtained a zoning and feed lot permit. Franzen then sold the land to Holden Farms. But a defense attorney says Franzen played by the rules, and this new evidence is illegitimate.
"Even if one were to assume that there were a violation it would not invalidate the zoning permit," said Defense Attorney Dustin Cross.
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency started doing an investigation on those permits several months ago, and have yet to come out with anything.
“If it's as clear cut as he says, what's taking them so long? You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure that out," said Franzen’s attorney Mike Ford. Now it's up the judge to decide whose right.
"We hope that the court will act to strike down those permits that were prematurely issued, they were issued by a feed lot officer to himself,” said Peters.
"We have not violated the law and the case should be dismissed, and we're hopeful the court will be able to reach that conclusion," said Cross.
A ruling could take up to 90 days. Lowell Franzen didn't show up for court today. His defense attorney says it’s due to a serious injury he sustained recently. However, he was required to come in for a deposition this afternoon.
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