Farmer proposes indoor shrimp farm and farm market; planning staff says operation can be an agricultural use if not split from larger farm

Eric Franzenberg, who operates Franzenberg Farms, presented a proposal to the Benton County Board of Supervisors to build an indoor shrimp aquaculture facility and attached farm market on a parcel at the southeast corner of Highway 30 and V40 (Thirteenth Avenue).

Franzenberg told the board the shrimp would be raised in lined tank systems indoors, using a recirculating system with algae production and filtration; grow-out cycles would be approximately three months, allowing monthly harvests. He said sales channels would include wholesale processors, direct farm sales at a farm market on site, and local farmers markets. The proposed building footprint discussed to the board was approximately a 30-by-80-foot shrimp facility attached to a 30-by-50-foot farm market; the applicant emphasized an agritourism and education component to bring visitors to see production.

Planning staff advised the board that aquaculture (including crustaceans) is considered an agricultural production activity under the state food code and can be treated as a farm product. However, county planning staff (Laura) said the county27s local definition of a "farm" requires 21 or more acres used in commercial production. The property the applicant wants to use for the shrimp market is roughly an acre or less; Laura told the board that if Franzenberg Farms retains the building within the existing larger farm (that meets the 21-acre test) and does not create a separate sub-acre parcel, the activity would qualify as an agricultural use and avoid a land-use change.

Planning staff also advised the applicant about ancillary requirements: septic capacity (an acre is generally required for septic setbacks), the Iowa Food Code and possible Department of Inspection and Appeals review for any cooking or commercial kitchen operations, and public-water or private-well constraints. Staff suggested the applicant could avoid a land-use change by keeping the shrimp operation under the umbrella of Franzenberg Farms rather than splitting off a separate parcel.

City of Belle Plaine administrator Steven Beck spoke in support, calling Franzenberg a community asset and encouraging the county to provide a pathway for the operation. Board members asked questions about wastewater (small daily effluent, described by the presenter as roughly ten gallons per day to a holding tank), odor (presenter and other growers said operations report little to no smell), building siting and traffic access from the existing Highway 30 driveway.

No final land-use action was taken. Staff recommended the applicant either keep the facility as part of the existing farm to qualify as agricultural use or, if they split the parcel, to pursue a land-use change and additional permitting including septic design and food-safety reviews.