COCHRAN, Ga. — David Barrentine loves his neighborhood on Mac Thompson Road. He's lived there his whole life, surrounded by family who are also nearby.
"It's a quaint little neighborhood. The people here are super nice," Barrentine said.
Which is why he isn't crazy about the idea of a chicken farm possibly starting up right down the road from his house.
About a month ago, he found out his neighbor Paul Williams' plan to build three chicken houses on his property.
Barrentine said the news didn't come from Williams, who he spoke with about the land purchase two years ago.
"He said he was going to build a house and raise his children there, might get a few cows. And that was about it. Didn't say nothing about no poultry farm," Barrentine said.
The news came as a shock, so he started telling neighbors about it, and after doing lots of research, he decided to start a petition against the building.
Barrentine said every neighbor he spoke with about the farm has been against it, and the list currently has over 100 signatures.
13WMAZ reached out to Williams to ask him about the pushback from neighbors, and we were told we have to speak with his lawyers for comment. We asked for the lawyer's contact information but have yet to receive it.
Tagg Lanier is one of the neighbors who signed the petition.
"My liberty to swing my fist ends where yours begins, right? And so you have this idea of encroaching and infringing on everyone around," Lanier said.
Lanier and Barrentine said there are many reasons neighbors want to avoid seeing a farm in their neighborhood, like the smell, the waste runoff, the noise, and the possible increase in taxes for road repairs that may happen if big trucks come down it.
Barrentine said he got a professional opinion from a group of realtors who told him that the property value of his home and others would depreciate substantially.
"I don't wanna be out there grilling out, grilling steaks, and smelling chickens at the same time," Barrentine said.
Lanier said new residential developments are coming to the area that would be right across the street from the chicken farm.
"The number that's rumored to me is a $2 million operation. So if you do have $2 million operations and your idea is that you're going to increase revenue based on that for the county, well- simultaneously, if you just draw a simple half-mile circle around this chicken house, you're going to affect far more than $2 million worth of property," Lanier said.
On Monday at 5:30 p.m., Lanier, Barrentine, and other neighbors will attend a concerned citizens meeting to present the petition and express why they hope Williams won't be given a permit to start his operations.