Supervisors direct zoning review to allow conditional-use borrow pits in agricultural estates

The Woodbury County Board of Supervisors directed the county zoning commission to consider an amendment that would allow borrow pits for earth materials as a conditional use in the Agricultural Estates zoning district.

Supervisor Mark Nelson said a landowner had begun a permitted excavation to lower a steep location used as a snow trap and to establish a safer driveway approach, but learned the county's ordinance classifies borrow pits as a prohibited use in Agricultural Estates when material is removed off-site. Nelson described a situation where the material would be used by a local school district and where neighbors expressed support because removing the hill improved sightlines and reduced winter hazards.

Nelson and Zoning staff said a regulatory inconsistency means borrow pits may be allowed in some agricultural zoning categories but are not permitted in Agricultural Estates; in the current code there is no clear variance process for this situation. Zoning staff and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources had visited the site and noted erosion-control measures such as berms were in place.

The board voted 5-0 to direct the zoning commission to schedule a public hearing and review the zoning ordinance language that governs borrow pits and earth-material extraction in Agricultural Estates. Board members said the goal is to create a permitting avenue with appropriate conditions and environmental safeguards rather than to prohibit the activity categorically.