Planning commission backs proposed feedlot ordinance revisions; begins work on consistent outdoor-music conditions

The Stearns County Planning Commission voted to support a package of proposed revisions to the county's Land Use and Zoning Ordinance (No. 439) related to feedlot permitting and definitions and recommended staff take the proposals to the County Board to set a public hearing.

Staff explained the proposed amendments include: adding interim use permits (IUPs) to the Feedlot Review Committee review list; removing a requirement that small feedlot permit applications (50–699 animal units in A-40) appear before the Feedlot Review Committee; clarifying language about portable livestock shelters and open lots; updating setback subscript language to allow written exemptions by affected city councils or property owners in specific circumstances; and loosening animal-unit density limits on small parcels in agricultural zoning to better reflect current practices and variances. Staff presented a before-and-after chart showing higher allowed animal-unit counts for small parcels in A zoning under the draft changes (for example, 1–1.99 acres would move from 0.3 animal units to 1 animal unit; many parcels 7 acres or larger would no longer be density-limited in the proposed chart). Staff also recommended clarifying that manure management-plan requirements can apply to IUPs as well as CUPs where staff find discretion is needed.

Commission discussion touched on the rationale for easing density limits for smaller parcels (staff said variance requests for such relief had been routinely granted) and on the need for comparative data from other counties. Commissioners voted to forward the draft changes with a recommendation of support to the County Board for public hearing. The commission also spent substantial time discussing outdoor-music conditions for CUPs and IUPs after several recent applications raised neighbor complaints. Commissioners asked staff to add a question about outdoor music to permit application forms and recommended a standardized set of base conditions (hours, number of events, noise-monitoring protocol based on the Guide to Noise Control in Minnesota and Minnesota Rules chapter 7030) that would be customized case-by-case depending on location and context.