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Buffalo County adopts multiple zoning changes, adds wind-farm setback rules
Summary
The Buffalo County Board of Commissioners on June 13 adopted four zoning actions — a rezoning to Commercial, a preliminary subdivision approval, a new mini-storage definition and wind-farm distancing rules that add setbacks from inventoried wetlands and other sensitive sites.
The Buffalo County Board of Commissioners on June 13 adopted a set of zoning- and land-use measures that the county says will clarify permitted commercial uses and restrict wind-farm siting near sensitive areas.
At a series of public hearings, the board approved Resolution 2023-31 to rezone roughly 15 acres owned by Poulson Family Limited Partnership from Agricultural–Residential to Commercial. Zoning Administrator Dennise Daniels and applicant Mitch Humphrey were present; no members of the public objected. The motion to adopt the rezoning was made by Commissioner Ronald Loeffelholz and seconded by Commissioner Timothy Higgins and passed by unanimous roll call vote.
The board also granted preliminary approval for "Sears Second Subdivision" (Resolution 2023-32) after applicant Paul E. Sears answered board questions. The approval was explicitly described as a preliminary plat; the resolution does not constitute a final plat filing.
Separately, the board adopted a code amendment (Resolution 2023-33) that defines and limits mini-storage facilities in the Commercial (C) District. The amendment sets a maximum storage-unit area of 640 square feet, limits the total access area to 224 square feet per unit and caps exterior height at 20 feet. The Planning and Zoning Commission had recommended the amendment unanimously.
The most detailed change was adoption of Resolution 2023-34, which amended Section 6.6 of the Buffalo County Zoning Regulations to add location and distance requirements for wind farms. The new language sets multiple buffers — including a three-mile buffer from Agricultural–Residential zoning and from some churches, hospitals, public schools and parks, five miles from incorporated municipalities and wildlife areas, two miles from burial sites and a one-quarter mile setback from inventoried wetlands as mapped by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The rule also describes straight-line measurement conventions for calculating the setbacks.
All four resolutions were adopted following public hearings and unanimous roll call votes by the full board. County staff will update the county zoning map and the Zoning Regulations as required by the resolutions.
The board also authorized Zoning Administrator Dennise Daniels to provide an intergovernmental-review response for the Wood River Dairy Digester Project (Wood River Biogas LLC). That authorization was approved separately by unanimous vote.
