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Mapleton rejects snake farm permit PDF | Print | E-mail JEREMY DUDA - Daily Herald It looks like Mapleton residents won't have to learn to overcome their fear of snakes.

The city's Planning Commission on Thursday voted 4-3 to deny Dan Sutherland's application for a conditional use permit for his snake farm. Sutherland withdrew his application last year and opened his snake farm in Spanish Fork instead but hoped to move his business to a plot of land he owned in Mapleton.

His snake farm houses about 1,500 ball pythons and boa constrictors, along with the baby mice and rats the snakes eat.

Sutherland said he has invested about $650,000 in the land and two barns he built at 525 S. Main.

Nearby residents opposed the snake farm because of the proximity of the reptiles and the rodents. David Nemelka, who spearheaded the opposition to the snake farm, sent e-mails to all the Planning Commission members before the meeting, asking them to deny Sutherland's application.

Sutherland said he was shocked at the Planning Commission's decision. A state ombudsman's report to the city said approving the conditional use permit for the snake farm would be in line with Mapleton's laws, he said, and an independent auditor for the city said houses near the snake farm would still sell for full value, though they would likely be on the market for longer than they otherwise would.

"They went against what the state ombudsman's report was. They went against the professional appraiser that the city hired," Sutherland said. "I thought they would approve it. I thought that it's within the law."

City manager Bob Bradshaw said the issue of property values was the primary reason the Planning Commission rejected the permit. The appraiser said there could be a negative effect on property values but that effect was not quantifiable.

For example, if a homeowner wanted to sell his house, he might lower the price in order to sell it more quickly.

"It would delay the sale of properties or it could have financial consequences. If you are in the market and you need to move out quick ... you are going to be tempted as a seller to drop the price to entice people to buy your property. That's why it becomes unquantifiable," Bradshaw said.

Bradshaw also said a dislike or fear of snakes could deter some people from buying homes in the area.

"I don't like snakes. You can't quantify that, put a finite financial value on that. But it has some kind of a deterrent effect for some potential buyers. You can't escape that fact," he said.

Nemelka, who said he was grateful for the Planning Commission's decision, also cited a fear of snakes as a reason to turn down the permit request.

"How do you mitigate fear? How do you mitigate somebody that doesn't want to live near a snake or rat farm?" he said. "If you can't mitigate the negative impact, you must deny. In my mind, that's what happened."

According to Bradshaw, the state ombudsman's report said the city could legally approve the conditional use permit, but if the Planning Commission denied that request, it would have to cite specific reasons. That, Bradshaw said, is what happened.

Sutherland said he plans to appeal the decision. According to Bradshaw, he has 30 days to make the appeal.

Jeremy Duda can be reached at 344-2561 or jduda@heraldextra.com.