Homeowners say neighbors’ act is a load of manure

Piles of manure were not what Kimber Johnson said she anticipated when she paid $80,000 extra for a view at her new Trilogy home in Gilbert.

But Johnson is among several homeowners who say they can’t stand the manure that begins to pile up in May just 300 feet beyond their back patios, and stays for months until the corn crops are picked at a Queen Creek farm at Power and Ocotillo roads.

“It impacts our ability to enjoy our back patios, that we put a lot of money into,” she said.

Debbie Holm said that while it doesn’t always smell, flies and moths that disrupt their homes breed in it.

“I think it’s a real health issue,” she said.

When the manure is dropped there, just beyond the dirt that marks the future Ocotillo Road just east of Power Road, dust blows everywhere, she said.

A complaint about smell and dust was made in May to Maricopa County, and forwarded to the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, as is routine with all complaints. County spokeswoman Erin Bruno said it’s difficult to prove a smell complaint, since odor affects everyone differently, and wind and other factors come into play.

But Gilbert Vice Mayor Steve Urie said the farm, owned by Sossaman Land Co. in Queen Creek, was there first, and is just doing what farms do to prepare for the next crops. The manure is spread out over the fields after the corn is picked. The compost, Urie said, is dried and therefore safer and less intrusive than wet manure would be to neighbors.

Queen Creek Mayor Art Sanders said the complaints outline an ongoing clash between 50-year farms, and new urban neighbors — one of whom recently called Sanders at 3 a.m. to complain about crop dusters. He said farmers are frustrated. Nearby dairy farms are required to unload their manure, which other area farms use, he said.

“When it’s dry like that, it really does not have much of a smell,” Sanders said. “And if somebody’s complaining about the sight of it or the thought of it — welcome to the country.

“The farmers,” he added, “would just as soon as not have neighbors that close.”

The Sossaman family could not be reached for comment.

In the meantime, Madeline Miller said she figures she just has to get used to the manure, now that she has been living in her home for two years and has seen it return.

The situation could be worse, Miller said, adding that residents had been told that large lots and homes were planned there in the future.

“That’s our view we paid $80,000 extra for,” she said staring at her back window. “But I don’t know what the other option is — pile a bunch of houses back there?”