Posted: 2/21/06
County board denies Sanness feedlot permit
By David Heiller
Argus News Editor
Houston County commissioners voted 4-0 on February 14 to deny a conditional use permit (CUP) for a controversial hog operation.
The vote upholds a county planning commission vote on January 26 that also denied the permit.
The permit would have allowed Scott Sanness to operate an animal feedlot with more than 300 animal units, and to construct a manure storage basin in section eight of Wilmington Township.
Commissioners made their decision after about 90 minutes of discussion, most of it from citizens who opposed the feedlot plan.
Board members felt the feedlot did not meet three of the 15 criteria required for granting a CUP.
They said it had the potential to create a pollution hazard and could be injurious to the use and enjoyment of other property in the vicinity.
First district commissioner Larry Graf noted that some of the criteria are open to interpretation.
ìThere always is,î fourth district commissioner Dave Corcoran responded.
The permit would have allowed up to 990 animals units, or 2,475 hogs. About 5,000 hogs would go through the feedlot per year, Sanness said. There would be two 50'x180' hog barns and two manure pits. The pits would have a 14-month storage capacity, and would hold about a million gallons of liquid.
Manure would be hauled in the fall and knifed into the soil, Sanness said. He said there would be not problem getting rid of it. ìMy phone rings steady with people looking for manure,î Sanness said.
Concerned with size
Corcoran, who made the motion to deny the permit, said the size of the operation concerned him. He said he might have been OK with something half that size, but the CUP didnít allow for that option.
Corcoran said the board had heard about a lot of factors that could minimize pollution. ìBut we donít know if they really work until we try it,î he said.
Both he and Graf also said the fact that Sanness does not live on the site of the feedlot concerned them.
Third district commissioner Kevin Kelleher said he had talked to planning commission members. There are a variety of people on that board who do a good job and look into the facts, Kelleher said, and he supported their decision, Graf and Corcoran also said the same thing.
Second district commissioner Ann Thompson said she was concerned about past complaints from people in that area from another hog operation. ìOdors are somehow not dissipated [there] as they are in other areas,î she said.
Fifth district commissioner Tom Bjerke did not attend the meeting. The proposed feedlot is in his district. Kelleher said that Bjerke had called him and told him he opposed the permit and felt that the planning commission had done an adequate job of researching the issue.
Attorneys disagree
Houston County attorney Rick Jackson said it would be ìarbitrary and capriciousî for the board to grant the permit if it objected to any of the 15 criteria.
Sannessí attorney, David Joerg of Preston, disagreed. Joerg reiterated a point he made at the previous board meeting that Sanness had met all the legal requirements of the conditional use permit. ìIf thatís true, then I think the law is that the public body must issue the permit. Thatís my position,î he said.
Tim Clawson of Clawson Development Services in Rochester responded that the authority lies with the county board and not the zoning department staff.
Joerg said there were no facts from opponents that there would be water or air pollution.
ìYou canít turn down an application for a permit on the basis of anecdotal evidence,î Joerg said. ìThey have brought in no experts whatsoever, no hydrologists, no geologists.î
Greg Smith, a farmer and board member on the Farmers Cooperative Elevator Company in Rushford, agreed that if the permit was within the countyís guidelines, it should be granted. If the rules need to be stricter, then the county needs to change the rules, Smith said. Agribusiness needs a clear picture, he added.
Seven people spoke against the plan prior to the boardís decision. Their objections centered on potential air and water pollution, property devaluation, opposition from neighbors, and hindering future home building.
Burton Fruechte said the neighbors had tried to convey to Sanness that they did not want the feedlot. ìIf it were me making the application, I would have withdrawn it a couple months ago knowing we were upsetting the neighbors in the area,î Fruechte said.
Variances approved
In other zoning news, zoning administrator Bob Scanlan said that the county board of adjustment had approved two variances on February 9. They are:
ï William Lynch, Mound Prairie Township, variance of 500 feet to meet the required 1,320-foot (1/4 mile) setback for a new feedlot from a dwelling;
ï Scott Prahl, Black Hammer Township, variance of 30 feet to meet the required 50-foot setback from a side property line in agricultural district to build a pole shed.
County board approval is not required for variances. The board of adjustment consists of Garland Moe, New Albin, Iowa; Tim Orr, Houston; and Norman Oseth, Caledonia. Glenn Meiners, Caledonia, is the alternate.
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