WINDSOR — A fight over backyard cows in this Weld County community is pitting mother against son in a battle neither wants to wage.
But they say too much is at stake, including preserving the rights of property owners to live as they choose.
“It makes it worse on an emotional level,” said Fauna Kness, who lives just yards down a dirt road from her son, Clint Sattler, on Stone Mountain Drive.
Kness is fighting her son’s bid to amend Windsor’s longstanding prohibition on allowing cows and other animals raised for food on properties zoned E-1.
She and her son will square off tonight at a work session of the Windsor Planning Commission. The Town Board is set to hear the issue July 18.
As it stands now, only horses, donkeys, mules, ponies and llamas can reside on E-1 parcels. The Sattlers say that when they bought their 7 1/2- acre property in 2002, they knew it had supported sheep and cattle for more than 100 years.
They fixed up the property and, thinking it was zoned just as the adjacent Weld County property, brought in livestock to keep up the tradition of feeding themselves and their children from the land.
“We think it’s important to show our kids where our food comes from and what it takes to grow the food,” said Clint’s wife, Erica.
A cow and her calf reside on their property, as do 11 chickens. All, the Sattlers say, are used as food. The family also has a horse.
As far back as 2003, town officials knew they were keeping livestock and only worried about proper fencing, the Sattlers said.
Kness and her new husband became neighbors in 2005, and problems began when Kness and the Sattlers became estranged about two years ago. In April, someone — the Sattlers say it was Kness — complained to the city about the odor on the property.
That prompted a new city planner to require the Sattlers to remove their cows by the end of April. The deadline was lifted to allow the Sattlers to apply for a conditional-use permit.
But the Sattlers want the zoning ordinance amended entirely, saying their use of the land is protected by the Colorado Constitution.
“For us, the proper role of government is to preserve the individual’s right to their property,” Clint Sattler said.
“Would the town be happy if this land became a dirt-bike track or a trailer court?” Erica Sattler asked.
But Kness said that the Sattlers have skirted the law for too long and that the cattle are driving down property values.
“The cattle were brought on illegally, and it’s quite baffling to me why no one enforces the law,” she said.
The number of chickens on the property also violates zoning, and they are attracting predators, including foxes, she said. The Sattlers have responded by illegally trapping the foxes, Kness said.
“So, somehow, the foxes are to blame for attacking the chickens?” she said. “This whole situation just doesn’t make any sense.”
Monte Whaley: 720-929-0907 or mwhaley@denverpost.com
