A local farmer finds food for his animals in a brewery's spent grain. Read more about it here.

One of Ray Smith’s neighbors recently moved out because she was tired of having horses next door on a small in-town lot.

Smith, a Benson commissioner, said complaints like that are what’s prompting the Mule City to take a closer look at its livestock ordinance. “You wouldn’t want horses 25 feet from your bedroom window,” Smith said. “That’s what we’re trying to solve.”

But several residents and commissioners dismissed a new draft ordinance — which would have limited properties to one animal per acre — as too restrictive, sending town staff members back to the drawing board.

“If horses are your problem, address your problem,” said Carolyn Lambert, who has five sheep on her five-acre property on the north end of town. She added that no one has complained about her animals, and only meter readers even notice that they’re there. And she wants to make sure her grandkids can keep animals on her pasture if they join Future Farmers of America or other agricultural activities.

Several commissioners said the ordinance needs to be crafted in a way that doesn’t restrict the larger, farm-like properties toward the edge of town. Town Attorney Ike Parker said that the law could be rewritten to increase the allowed number of animals based on the size of the property, with fewer restrictions for large tracts.

Commissioners will consider a revised draft of the animal rules at their meeting Thursday, April 22.