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Buffalo County adopts zoning definition and permit rules for 'butchering facilities'
Summary
The Buffalo County Board of Commissioners unanimously adopted a zoning amendment defining 'Butchering Facility' and established where facilities under and over 2,500 animal-equivalent units per year may operate, adding use-by-right and special-use permit classifications.
On April 12, 2022, the Buffalo County Board of Commissioners unanimously adopted a code amendment that defines “Butchering Facility” and sets where such facilities may operate and whether they require a special-use permit. The board voted to add the definition to Section 3.3112 and to amend use tables so that facilities handling less than 2,500 animal equivalent units (AEU) per year are allowed as a use-by-right in the Industrial (I) district and as a special-use in certain Commercial and Agricultural districts, while facilities handling 2,500 AEU or more require a special use in the Industrial district.
Deputy County Attorney Andrew Hoffmeister reviewed the proposed amendment before the board and the Planning and Zoning Commission had earlier recommended the change. The resolution (2022-12) makes the following core definition part of the county code: “A Butchering Facility is any land, building, place, and/or establishment in which animals are slaughtered, eviscerated, and/or animal flesh is prepared for consumption of the owner of the animal and/or the sale to the public of butchering produce…” The definition also requires an on-site sewage treatment system and a waste-disposal plan addressing sewage, processed and unprocessed animal parts, manure, entrails, blood, hides, and bones.
The board recorded that no protests had been filed with the County Clerk and that no parties appeared in opposition at the public hearing. Commissioners voted to adopt the amendment by roll call (moved by Maendele; seconded by Loeffelholz), with all seven commissioners voting “Aye.”
Why it matters: the changes clarify where small- and large-scale butchering operations can be located in Buffalo County and impose requirements intended to address public-health and environmental concerns, including sewage and waste disposal planning. The amendment also creates a permitting pathway for larger operations that could trigger more intensive review and conditions through the special-use process.
What’s next: the amendment is adopted as county code and takes effect per the county’s adoption process; future applicants proposing butchering facilities must follow the new definitions and permitting paths.
