Lincoln County, Sioux Falls planning panels deny conditional use permit for kennel near Cliff Avenue

A joint Lincoln County and City of Sioux Falls planning commission meeting on an application for Conditional Use Permit CUP-2-2025 resulted in both bodies denying the request to operate a kennel on a three-acre parcel just east of Sioux Falls.

Lincoln County planning staff recommended denial, citing potential increases in traffic, concerns about noise mitigation and questions about visual screening. “Staff is recommending denial of this application,” Toby Brown, representing Lincoln County planning staff, told commissioners during the Oct. 12 meeting.

The applicant, Lance Bosch, said he planned a small boarding operation he described as a start-up run by him and his wife that would use an existing 1,800-square-foot accessory building on the site. Bosch said he reduced the proposed maximum number of dogs to 15 from an earlier 20, described scheduled exercise times and said hours for pick up and drop off would be by appointment between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. He told the commission the building would be retrofitted with insulation and individual rooms with solid dividers and that security cameras would be installed. “At max, originally I had said 20 dogs. I thought about it a little more, and I'd like to dial that back to 15 dogs,” Lance Bosch said.

City staff also opposed the permit because the property falls inside Sioux Falls’ future land-use tiering and is identified for development in coming years. Kristen Bennett of the Sioux Falls Planning Office said the area is in a Tier 2 growth area, which the city expects to develop within roughly six to 15 years, and that more intensive commercial uses would be directed to nodes at arterial intersections. Bennett also noted the city’s standard that a kennel within 1,000 feet of residential uses triggers a conditional review and said several residences fall inside that buffer.

Commissioners on both sides expressed support for small local businesses but said the location and potential long-term conflicts with planned growth weighed against approval. County commissioners voted to deny the permit; the county roll call recorded no affirmative votes and resulted in a failed motion. The City of Sioux Falls planning commissioners also voted against approval by a 0–4 roll call.

Bosch and the property owner, Casey Prestrillo, told commissioners the kennel would use shared driveway easement arrangements with the adjacent property owner and that waste would be handled by an underground holding tank pumped by a septic contractor as needed. Bosch said he and his wife planned to live on the property if the permit were approved and that family members would handle occasional staffing needs.

County staff said typical conditions that might mitigate traffic or noise impacts—such as a traffic impact study or acoustical insulation—could be cost-prohibitive for the applicant’s stated short-term plan. Enforcement of time-limited conditions also posed a challenge because the county’s compliance process is primarily complaint-driven and lacks robust tracking for sunset provisions.

The denial leaves the property in its current A-1 agricultural zoning and does not grant any operating rights for a kennel. Bosch said he would continue to look for suitable locations; Prestrillo said he supported the applicant and believed the site was a reasonable temporary option to start a small business.

Votes at a glance - Conditional Use Permit CUP-2-2025 (kennel at parcel in Springdale Township, near Cliff Avenue): Denied by Lincoln County planning commission (roll call: Todd Boots — no; Arlene Sweeter — no; Colin Instead — no; Jerry Jungling — no). Denied by City of Sioux Falls planning commission (roll call: Mulally — no; Fisher — no; Gray — no; Normanson — no).