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Planning Board Denies Rezoning Request To Agriculture; Residents Make Strong Allegations About Their Neighbors
August 2, 2023
Tuesday, the Escambia County Planning Board unanimously denied a resident’s request to rezone their property to agricultural so that they could maintain farm animals in a vote that came after several neighbors made strong allegations.
Applicant Mitchell Hazelbaker said he has a farming background and moved from Indiana to the recently purchased property at 890 Old Novak Road.
“We come down here basically to start over and kind of homestead here,” he said. “When we purchased this, we were told we could have animals. We looked around and we saw animals in the neighborhood and everything. We purchased the property, found out the zoning, the future land use, was wrong. We are here requesting that it be reverted back to agriculture like it was prior to the sale for us to continue.”
Hazelbaker described the property as the “old Tate Farm”, built for the school teacher when the Spanish settled here. “If it’s not the oldest schoolhouse in Escambia County, it’s one of,” he claimed. He said Andrew Jackson was there three times.
“There’s a lot of historical value,” he added. Escambia County Property Appraiser records show the house was constructed in 1920.
Hazelbaker said he is not trying to run a “big” farming operation, but just maintain his horses and cattle and “live off the land”.
“Farming has taught me an awful lot,” made me who I am. I want to bring that to my grandchildren. That’s what I want, what I want with this 20 acres.”
According to the county, the property was never zoned agricultural.
Hazelbaker submitted a small-scale request to go from a future land use of mixed used suburban to agricultural. Like the surrounding properties, it’s currently zoned as low density residential which does not allow farm animals, other than chickens, and provides for up to four dwelling units per acre. Growing food for personal use is allowed, but not commercially.
The request, according to a county staff analysis, is not consistent with surrounding property.
“One of the components of the Comprehensive Plan and the Land Development Code is to preserve the existing character of existing neighborhoods,” said Escambia County Development Service director.
“From what they present — the facts they are not adding up,” he told the planning board..
“In speaking with them, there is some type of a commercial operation that they are planning on, that they are doing. So that will require a site planning review,” Jones said. “We’ve just got to make sure that provisions of the law are provided equally and across the board.”
“I just find this refreshing quite frankly because it’s always the opposite argument,” planning board at-large member Tim Pyle said, adding that current zoning would allow some 60 or more homes on the property. “I would sell it. I would think there’s probably a line of guys that would want to buy this to build on that piece of property. Just guessing.”
Two people addressed the planning board making strong allegations against their neighbors.
Caroline Bramblett of Kathleen Avenue said Hazelbaker has brought trouble to the neighborhood.
Bramblett said Bobbie Lei Sales, who was recently charged by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement with allegedly impersonating a FDLE agent on Pauline Street, lives on the Old Novak property with Hazelbaker.
According to a court document and a FDLE arrest warrant, the last known address for Sales is the 890 Old Novak Road, the subject of the planning board request. However, she is not listed as owner of the property, and she was not a party to the rezoning request.
“She is a pathological liar, Bramblett told the planning board, saying that Sales claims ownership of multiple parcels in the area. “She is a pathological liar. You saw her probably in all of the arrest stuff yesterday.”
Planning Board vice chair Walker Wilson attempted to steer Bramblett on the topic of zoning and away from personal attacks.
Bramblett continued, saying that Sales trespasses on neighboring properties and mentioned code enforcement complaints.
“Nothing that they do is ethical; this is how they live,” she claimed. “This is what they brought into the neighborhood.”
Kim Smith of Kathleen Avenue claimed that many of the horses on the property were bought locally, not brought from Indiana.
“They do not take care of them; they do not have shelter. There’s a large majority of them that have mysteriously died,” Smith said. “His daughter has been posting where they plan to do hunting, camping, fishing retreats on that land. That’s why they brought that cabin in. They plan to make a business out of it.”
“The last year that they have lived there has been terrible. They have harassed everyone for a mile each direction,” Smith continued. “It’s unbelievable the problems that they have caused….they have already messed up everything since they’ve been there. So please don’t give them anymore leeway in making a mess out of where we live.”
Hazelbaker said two bulls purchased from a cattle barn in Atmore had a disease that infected the entire herd despite veterinary care.
There are two pending Escambia County Code Enforcement complaints against Hazelbaker — one for the farm animals and one for an unpermitted structure.
Escambia County Code Enforcement Office Lynn Butler told the planning board that a structure near Hazelbaker’s pond was not permitted, nor were horses, goats and cattle. Butler said they have not been allowed onto the gated property, so they have not been able to confirm all of the animals are actually present.
In the event the property were rezoned to agriculture, the animal complaint would go away but a case over the unpermitted structure would remain.
A May 5 notice of violation posted at the property advised Hazelbaker to “remove the goats, horses, cows, pigs and donkeys from the property. You may keep 1 rooster and up to 8 chickens”.
In a May 1 application to the Florida Department of Revenue for agricultural classification of the land, Hazelbaker stated tfhere are 10 livestock animals on the property, two acres used for “poultry, swine or bee yards”, and one acre of aquaponics. The application stated that he had a cattle income of $2,600, but lost $2,200 on cattle in 2022.
Hazelbaker told the planning board that there are less than a dozen cows on the property which are raised and sold as freezer beef “if we ever venture to get into it that far”.
Other residents of the area spoke in favor of the agricultural zoning, while others thought farm animals would be just too much.
“It’s going to affect me with the runoff, and the smell, the sounds of agriculture,” Kathleen Avenue resident Dorothy Johnson said.
“As far as the horses and cows and stuff, I grew up with them. I don’t want that noise anymore. I can listen to the roosters crowing,” Charles Johnson said. “It’s going to change what is going on in our neighborhood. ”
Janice King of Candy Lane said there has been no problem with smells or annoyances from the property and enjoys visiting the animals. She said Hazelbaker has started working with the Boys Club to teach agriculture.
“I’d like for it (the zoning) to go back to what it was for them to be able to continue that stuff for kids,” King said. “I just want to get it where he would be able to do things with kids, future stuff for America for the kids.”
“When he moved from Indiana, he should have researched that prior to this,” Sheryl Norton of Candy Lane told the planning board about Hazelbaker’s zoning problems. “If it was his desire to put animals on this piece of land, he should have looked at the zoning…I feel like they need to go north and buy land there if that’s their heart’s desire.”
The planning vote’s denial vote will now go to the Escambia County Commission for a final determination.
Comments
18 Responses to “Planning Board Denies Rezoning Request To Agriculture; Residents Make Strong Allegations About Their Neighbors”
I remember going on field trips to Novak Farm, and you tell me now that people cannot have farm animals in this area?
VOTE!
when land is sold it will lose ag rating and new owner must aplay
To clarify: The expansion of 9 Mile Road means that corridor becomes commercially dominated and housing and ancillary development moves up Hwy 29. This will reach to Muscogee Road and beyond as the county extends Well Line Rd and Quintette Rd west.
It’s not what I wanted to deal with approaching retirement out here in the relative peace, but time marches on and places fade, change, or disappear.
I’ve loved living here, but I’m holding my options open.
Good luck.
If y’all think that location is country, I have news for you. It’s not.
I have no dog in this fight other than pointing out that fact.
Best of luck to all affected parties.
Unbelievable – he owns 20 acres out in the country and he can’t have a couple of horses and cows? High time to reevaluate our values and what’s important in life .
Making this man get rid of his farm animals is wrong and demonic this city is heading in the wrong direction for sure. What would make you happy to put another dollar general there? maybe a walmart ?
Seems to me the zoning board cookie cuts all construction of homes regardless of lack of services, etc.. What ever happened to Life, liberty , and the pursuit of happiness? It really makes you wonder what drives the zoning board? Regardless who lives on the property zoning should not be based on a suspected crime. If that was the basis then many properties in Escambia would not be rezoned, but that is not the case. Possible mental health issues of a non convicted resident is not a criteria to be considered in zoning. Keep the boards action in mind as well as the so called county commissioner of that area during election time.
I knew no local would end up with this property!!!!
The shenanigans are just the icing on the cake!
@local citizen
“mind your own business!!”
That’s funny! If Mitchell Hazelbaker had heeded that advice and kept his attack dog Bobbie Lei Sales tied up on the front porch, no one would have known anything about them. But no, he released her into the wild to let her call the law on a local neighborhood birdwatcher (for spying on them), threaten and intimidate people, claiming to own property she doesn’t, claiming to be a vet in local homestead groups and representing herself as law enforcement.
Mind your own business?? Yep, that would have been the wiser course of action.
Ann!
If all the people would move back out of the state,including me, houses be 10 cents on the dollar the day after. You are fully filled with hate and likely need some help. Be a good neighbor
Laws, rules and policies are made by those that profit from them. This is what happens when voting them in based on the political affiliation or notoriety and less about what’s best for the community and future of what’s left of a beautiful area. If it isn’t covered under A,B or C …D will be created.
Steve, Maybe if she get’s a little mental health help she would be a great neighbor. I have a whole street full of people who probably would too, hahaha.
“localcitizen ” You must not be effected by these people.. But just hearing what the neighbors are complaining about, they seem justified in their anger. Those are not good people and cause problems. Its one of those give a inch they take a mile.
NAH… And that lady who was arrested, just screams mental issues…
My 1 acre lot neighborhood is zoned for anything under the sun. The board is inconsistent and hypocritical. They have plans that don’t align with the residents here now. They want cookie cutters. Shrink the gov.
God forbid anybody thinking that they can do anything but build houses on every available foot of land.
Mr. Hazelbaker needs to return to Indiana. Florida is not a fly-over State.
If he owns the MU property to, why not zone the whole property Agriculture.
The planning board never looked at the denial people for the DOLLAR store at 29 and 196. It was NOT CONSISTENT TO THE LOCAL AREA …….
Id rather have them than 60 cookie cutter houses clogging up our area. We should have fought all this construction. I say let him have his farm and mind your own business!!