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DeKalb County plan commission approves development plan for 82,000‑chicken confined feeding operation
Summary
The DeKalb County Plan Commission approved petition 25‑38, permitting a confined feeding operation for roughly 81,000–82,000 chickens at 7735 County Road 28, subject to six conditions including SWPPP and drainage board approval and written compliance with county health and highway departments and IDEM.
The DeKalb County Plan Commission on Dec. 17 approved petition 25‑38, allowing Leroy and Shyla Graber to establish a confined feeding operation for approximately 81,000–82,000 egg‑laying chickens at 7735 County Road 28 in an A‑2 agricultural zoning district.
Planning staff told commissioners the operation is a permitted use in A‑2 and that the development plan meets the county’s minimum design standards and the Unified Development Ordinance. Planning staff recommended approval with six conditions, including continued commission jurisdiction, a requirement that development begin within three years and be completed within seven years, and that no certificate of occupancy or completion be issued until the applicant files written evidence of compliance with the DeKalb County Board of Health, Highway Department, Drainage Board, county Soil and Water Conservation District, and any applicable state or federal agencies. Staff specifically noted that Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan approval by the Soil and Water Conservation District and drainage plan approval by the Drainage Board are required prior to issuance of permits.
“My name is Brian Munch. I’m with Blunt Engineering,” said Brian Munch, who presented the site plan on behalf of petitioners Leroy and Shyla Graber. Munch described a single production building roughly 700 feet long and 128 feet wide with an automated manure‑collection system feeding to a recessed manure pit and side ditches that route runoff to a sediment basin before entering the regulated drain. He described fenced pasture areas adjacent to the building and said, “it is for egg collection” and that the operation is designed to be free‑range within the fenced areas.
Commissioners asked about truck traffic, manure removal, egg storage and drainage controls. Munch said manure removal is handled under a contractual arrangement (weekly removal was discussed) and that egg collection is automated with cooler storage in the southern portion of the building. Staff and the applicant confirmed the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) review and approval for a confined feeding operation is part of the permit path.
After discussion, a motion to approve petition 25‑38 with the six conditions passed on a roll‑call vote with all voting commissioners present recorded as voting yes: Bill Hartman, Bill Van Wy, Sandy Harrison, Gary Yoder, Frank Palver, Suzanne Davis, Angie Holt, Tyler Lanning and Jason Carnahan.
The approval includes the following notable conditions: plan commission continuing jurisdiction to ensure compliance; explicit requirement for Soil and Water Conservation District SWPPP approval and Drainage Board approval prior to any county permit; and written evidence of compliance with county agencies and identified state/federal agencies before any certificate of occupancy is issued. Implementation deadlines in the approval require commencement of development within three years and completion within seven years.
Next steps noted in the record include the Drainage Board review (scheduled separately) and awaiting final IDEM permitting where applicable. The plan commission’s action authorizes the project subject to those outstanding agency approvals.
