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Board approves Klopock request to build home closer to 100‑animal feedlot than ordinance allows
Summary
The Board granted a variance allowing a proposed dwelling at 26997 327th Street (Oak Township) to be built 360 feet from an existing feedlot registered for 258 animal units, below the ordinance 700‑foot setback requirement.
ALBANY, Minn. — The Stearns County Board of Adjustment voted Feb. 13 to approve a variance allowing applicants Joe and Carly Klopock (also referenced as Jeff and Judy Klopock in some staff materials) to build a new residence 360 feet from a neighboring registered feedlot, below the county's 700‑foot setback for feedlots registered for 100 animal units or more.
Staff summary and context
Environmental staff said the Klopock parcel lies in an A‑80 agricultural district and that both the existing home and the neighboring feedlot predate the current setback standards. Staff noted the neighboring feedlot owned by Richard and Sherry Gable originally registered for 490 animal units in 1998 and was last registered for 258 animal units on April 22, 2021. Because the existing house and the nearby feedlot are legacy, the request was framed as a variance to allow the new home location rather than a change to the feedlot.
The proposed dwelling site would be approximately 360 feet from the feedlot; staff characterized that as a 48% deviation from the 700‑foot requirement. Staff reported the applicants submitted a septic design and that the site lies within a shoreland overlay (triggering additional septic and shoreland considerations). Staff provided alternatives including constructing at the full 700‑foot setback or using the county's "no further encroachment" or one‑time 24‑foot encroachment allowances.
Board decision
After board members ran through the required findings, the board voted to approve the variance. Members cited agricultural policy goals and the site's status as a farm property where housing supports ongoing agriculture. The board also discussed that the Klopocks currently operate or are associated with dairy operations and that rebuilding in the existing home site was technically an option but the applicants preferred constructing at the proposed location to avoid taking cropland out of production.
Public testimony
Applicants said they planned to demolish the existing dwelling after completing the new house and that the new location reduces removal of productive farmland compared with other possible sites. Staff confirmed board members and township and DNR notifications had been made and that the neighboring feedlot had a recent compliance inspection.
Ending
The board approved the variance in a recorded vote at the hearing; staff said it would work with the applicants on septic, shoreland, and building permit requirements and on the condition that no further encroachment is allowed without a new application or variance.
