Artesia : Agriculture Zones Updated

One of the city’s last links with its agricultural past has been severed. The City Council has adopted an ordinance changing most of the city’s agricultural zones to residential.

Much of the 1.6-square-mile city is already covered with housing, but a few pockets of land are still zoned for agriculture, permitting a variety of uses and development. In some cases, people living in single-family homes on lots zoned for agriculture have been allowed to keep farm animals like chickens and goats. But in recent months, said City Manager B. Eugene Romig, there have been a few complaints about the animals so the council decided to update the zoning laws and eliminate the agriculture zone. Homeowners in the areas rezoned as residential will have to get rid of farm animals.