Lincoln County Planning Commission approves milk-condensing plant expansion with added screening and traffic-study condition

The Lincoln County Planning Commission on June 12 approved a conditional-use permit for a 13,000-square-foot expansion to an existing milk-condensing plant northwest of Beresford, but only after adding two conditions requested by neighbors and commissioners: landscape or fence screening, and a traffic-impact study that must be completed and accepted by the county highway superintendent before a building permit can be issued.

Toby Brown, county planning staff, summarized the application and its history, saying the site is already developed with an approximately 47,000-square-foot building that was originally permitted in 2023. Brown said staff recommended approval with four conditions that tracked earlier decisions, and described outreach with Delaware and Brooklyn townships. "As part of staff's analysis, we looked at again, this was approved previously in 2023 as an agricultural related operation," Brown said, and noted the application is consistent with the county comprehensive plan’s agricultural land-use designation.

The applicant, represented by Paul Casbo of 1 Development Solutions, told the commission he and the county highway superintendent agreed a traffic-impact study is appropriate and said the applicant would pay for it. Casbo said engineers could complete counts and a study by mid-July and that, "If that's what needs to be done, then that's what would get done." He added that turning-lane needs would be assessed as part of that study.

Neighbors who live near the operation urged the commission to deny or postpone approval until the county studies traffic, noise and other impacts. Bethany Eric, who said she lives midway between two dairies, described sustained problems with light and noise and told commissioners: "This lights up the highway. It looks like a baseball stadium out there." Another resident, Joyce (last name not provided), said nearby digesters had increased odors and lighting and pleaded, "Please do not approve this tonight. Pause it. Investigate it further." Township officials and other residents raised concerns about road damage and additional costs to townships from heavy tanker trucks.

Several commenters and township supervisors argued that permit conditions approved in the past have not been followed. Residents offered measured noise readings and said lights and odors continue to affect daily life; one speaker said she had recordings showing nighttime levels as high as the upper 80s to 100 decibels.

Commission discussion focused on timing and enforceability of mitigation. Commissioners debated whether the traffic study should be completed before the commission voted or whether the study could be required as a condition before a building permit. Brown recommended standard practice: approval can be granted but the county should not issue a building permit until the traffic-impact study is completed and accepted by the highway superintendent.

Commissioners voted to approve the CUP with the original four staff-recommended conditions plus a fifth condition requiring screening (trees or an equivalent fence/planting) and a sixth condition that a traffic-impact study acceptable to the highway superintendent be completed before issuance of any building permit. One commission representative abstained; the motion carried.

The approval does not itself change the underlying zoning. The plan now moves to the Board of County Commissioners for their forthcoming meeting where additional review or appeals are possible.

What’s next: the traffic-impact study must be completed and accepted by the county highway superintendent before a building permit is issued. The county’s enforcement process remains the mechanism for ensuring compliance with permit conditions.