Minnehaha County declares North Ellis Road property a public nuisance after staff findings and owner rebuttal

Minnehaha County commissioners voted on Sept. 23 to declare the property at 2204 North Ellis Road a public nuisance and to allow planning and zoning to begin steps to remove nuisance items and pursue additional enforcement avenues.

County planning staff presented photos and aerial imagery showing multiple commercial-type vehicles, equipment left in the floodplain, abandoned materials and piles of tires and scrap. Kevin, a planning staff member, told the commission staff found two violations: “permitted commercial activity” on land zoned for agriculture and “visible nuisance items such as tires, scraps, vehicles” including material visible only via aerial imagery. Staff requested the nuisance declaration under South Dakota Codified Law 21-10-6 to allow the county to clean the property and recoup costs from the owner if necessary.

Property owner Matt Poss told the commission he bought the core parcel in 2012 and expanded farming operations, said much of the equipment is used in his agricultural operation and said he operates his business out of a rented shop south of the site. “A lot of what he’s talking about is commercial is not commercial. It’s used for my farming,” Poss said, adding that many vehicles are licensed and operational, and that some equipment is necessary for farm work and for maintaining the old school building on the other site.

Commissioners pressed staff and the owner on which items would be removed if the county declared a nuisance and whether the declaration would prevent legitimate agricultural equipment being used on the parcel. Scott Anderson said the county typically focuses on unlicensed, inoperable vehicles and items that appear to be junk or scrap; operational agricultural equipment could be identified and left in place or addressed through a conditional-use permit if appropriate.

After discussion about the multi-year timeline of notices and past contact with the owner, a motion to declare the property a public nuisance and to authorize planning and zoning to initiate cleanup passed on roll call, recorded as a 3–2 decision. The declaration is phase 1 of staff’s enforcement plan; staff said additional legal steps in coordination with the state’s attorneys may follow to address any underlying zoning violations. The county also noted it will seek to apply discretion to retain agricultural equipment that is operational and remove clearly inoperable junk and scrap.