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Board approves variance for Yoder schoolhouse near feedlot; neighbors seek signage and erosion safeguards
Summary
The Board approved Jake and Mary Yoder’s request to site a schoolhouse 260 feet from a nearby feedlot instead of the 500-foot setback; neighbors and the Sinclair Cemetery caretaker asked for additional signage, sight-line review and measures to prevent driveway runoff into the cemetery.
The Winona County Board of Adjustment approved a variance allowing Jake and Mary Yoder to locate a small schoolhouse about 260 feet from a neighboring feedlot, reduced from the 500-foot setback normally required for feedlots with 10–50 animal units.
Planning staff described the site as roughly 28.9 acres in Saint Charles Township, with the schoolhouse and a small outbuilding set back from County Road 35 and accessed from Sinclair Road. Staff said the north feedlot is counted at more than 10 but fewer than 50 animal units; goats on an adjacent property do not reach the permitting threshold. The Yoders told the board the chosen location keeps the building off active farmland and places the playground on the north side of the schoolhouse to respect a nearby cemetery.
Petitioner Jake Yoder said, “I guess for the need of the schoolhouse, it was probably the best location we could come up with,” and described plans to fence the schoolyard and to place the driveway as far south on Sinclair Road as possible. The Yoders also noted the school serves local Amish families and that they prefer a location where a family can see the schoolhouse for safety.
Sinclair Cemetery caretaker Steve Holm spoke in favor of the schoolhouse but raised three concerns: vehicle speeds and limited shoulders on County Road 35, a sight-line issue at the Sinclair–35 intersection, and runoff/erosion from a driveway into the cemetery. Holm said additional signs would help drivers and told the board, “Additional signage would be a huge, huge plus.” Board members and staff discussed that driveway access and signage on the township road are under the jurisdiction of the township and that the conditional-use permit review before the planning commission would analyze traffic, safety and access in more detail.
After a public hearing and discussion, a board member moved to approve the variance; the motion passed. Planning staff reminded the public of the 30-day right to appeal the Board’s decision to the district court. Staff and some board members said they will raise signage and access concerns with the planning commission and suggested coordination with the township and the county highway department as appropriate.
