Posted: 6/13/06
Hunting preserve on hold
County board also continues
Sanness feedlot application
By David Heiller
Argus News Editor
The Houston County board voted on June 6 to continue hearings on two controversial conditional use permit.
One was for Larry Ledebuhr, Mound Prairie Township, to run an outdoor commercial recreation area ñ hunting preserve.
The other was for Scott Sanness, Wilmington Township, to expand an animal feedlot up to 480 animal units and construct a manure storage basin.
Commissioners were to visit both sites on June 13 to get more information. They will do so on the afternoon of June 13.
The county planning commission approved Ledebuhrís permit on May 25, and denied Sannessí permit. The county board makes the final decision on conditional use permits.
Same issues voiced
Debate on the Ledebuhr application lasted for 90 minutes at last weekís county board meeting. The arguments for and against centered on the same issues that were aired at two planning commission meetings: chronic wasting disease (CWD), safety from stray bullets, and the ethics of hunting deer in an enclosed area.
Carl Denkinger, a regulatory specialist with the Minnesota Board of Animal Health, attended the meeting, as he did the May 25 meeting. Commissioner Tom Bjerke asked him if CWD could get into soil.
There is some evidence of that, Denkinger answered. Thatís why farmers are required to keep their fencing for five years if CWD is found in a herd and it has to be euthanized, Denkinger said. Topsoil in holding areas is also removed in that case, he added. ìWe donít know much about this disease,î he said.
Bjerke said people donít know what the future holds with CWD. ìI guess thatís the point that concerns me,î he said.
Denkinger predicted that the next time Minnesota sees a case of CWD, it will come from wild deer from Wisconsin.
Commissioner Ann Thompson held up a photo of a deer that a friend of hers had taken in the Caledonia area recently. The deer had an tag in its ear. She wondered where it had come from and how it had gotten out.
Sometimes people leave gates open, Ledebuhr answered.
Thompson said she felt it would be hard for Ledebuhr to tell if he had all of the 40 deer that would be kept within a 240-acre enclosure.
Bjerke also wondered if a 9' high fence would stop a deer on a hill.
Board chairman Kevin Kelleher said that the shooting of rifles was a legitimate concern.
Ledebuhr responded that his hunts would be safer than public hunting. There are no houses close by, and it is a dead-end valley, he said.
Thereís no guarantee of safety, and rifles can shoot across valleys, Kelleher said. He asked of Ledebuhr could guarantee that hunters would shoot from stands and not stalk deer.
Not 100 percent, Ledebuhr answered.
If a person were walking to a stand, is it possible he could shoot, commissioner Larry Graf asked.
ìSure it could,î Ledebuhr answered.
Commissioner Dave Corcoran voted for approving the application on May 25 as a member of the planning commission. ìIt all boils down to the hunting aspect of the thing,î he said.
Ledebuhrís attorney, Skip Wieser, noted that the planning commission had held two meetings on the issue and had visited the site. ìThey did do their homework,î he said.
The criteria for approving the application doesnít look at popularity of politics, he said.
ìThereís a whole lot more to learn for everybody in the process,î Kelleher responded. He said the planning commission makes recommendations, but the county board is elected to represent the people.
Bjerke asked Wieser if the county would be liable if a stray bullet from the preserve hit someone.
Wieser said he wouldnít see how the county would be brought in.
There are a lot of unanswered questions, Graf said, and the county has the right and responsibility to do due diligence.
Sanness application continued
Commissioners spent another 10 minutes discussing the Sanness application for a permit to operate an animal feedlot with more than 300 animal units. He wants to have 480 animal units, which translates to 1,200 pigs; and to construct a manure basin. A hog counts for four-tenths of an animal unit.
Graf wondered why the planning commission had ruled that Sanness did not demonstrate a need for the proposed use while Ledebuhr did demonstrate a need. ìItís a fine hair,î he said.
Environmental services director Rick Frank answered that Ledebuhr was changing his farm operation whereas Sanness already has a hog operation in place.
Zoning administrator Bob Scanlan said the main concerns for the planning commission were the potential for water and air pollution, the possible impedment to development, and the potential for health problems.
Is it a bad site, Bjerke asked.
ìI would say,î Corcoran answered. He said it is in a valley that drains through an area.
Sanness said that his engineer has designed numerous structures that have had no problems. He said he knew of no complaints about the hog facilities that his father operates.
Frank said there had been complaints on that property but the county could not do much because it lacked monitoring equipment.
Gary Wilhelmson also said there had been complaints.
ìItís greatly exaggerated,î Sanness replied.
The Sanness application has a June 24 deadline for approval. In 2005 he applied for a permit to operate an animal feedlot with more than 300 animal units, and to construct a manure storage basin. It was for up to 990 animals units, or 2,475 hogs. The planning commission and county board denied the application.
Other approvals
ï The county board approved a conditional use permit for Tom Tollefsrud of Spring Grove Township to build a lean-to onto his sawmill, which is classified as a Level II Home Occupation.
ï The board approved the final plat of the David Snow subdivision in the Swede Bottom area of Sheldon Township.
Caledonia Argus
314 West Lincoln St.
P.O. Box 227
Caledonia, MN 55921-0227
507/724-3475
E-Mail: editor.argus@ecm-inc.com