The joint Planning Commission and Village Board held a conceptual discussion on Aug. 14 about zoning language for livestock-building offsets and permitted uses in agricultural (A-1) and residential estate districts. Planner Sean said the A-1 district currently does not include a livestock-building setback specific to livestock, while the residential estate district requires a 50-foot setback for livestock buildings; other residential districts reference the residential-estate standard.
Staff floated the idea that livestock buildings “should be no different than any other accessory structure in terms of setbacks and offsets,” so that setbacks would be the minimum setback required by the district (for example, 20 feet in A-1 and 30 feet in residential estate), unless a larger operation exceeded a specified animal-unit threshold. Commissioners generally favored simplifying the code by treating livestock buildings like other accessory structures and asked staff to return draft amendment language for public hearing. Sean also proposed adding pigs to the list of permitted uses in the A-1 district; the board agreed and asked staff to schedule a public hearing next month on the proposed ordinance language.
Action: The board directed staff to prepare draft zoning-language changes and to set a public hearing for the proposed amendments, including clarifying height rules for accessory versus ag buildings and reinstating pigs as a permitted use in A-1.
Why it matters: Proposed changes would align livestock-building setbacks with existing accessory-structure setbacks in each district, removing a separate 50-foot rule that applies in some residential zones and clarifying where larger operations might need additional setbacks or approvals.
Next steps: Staff will draft ordinance language for a public hearing at a future meeting; the board indicated consensus on the principal approach but did not adopt specific code text at the meeting.