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Board grants variance to Thielen Farms for grain leg and loading pad
Summary
The Brookings County Board of Adjustment approved variance 2026-001 for Thielen Farms (Nathan Thielen) to place a grain leg and a 20-by-60-foot concrete loading pad closer to S.D. Highway 13 than the ordinance allows; the board’s findings and conditions, including SD DOT clearance outside the right-of-way and a three-year use requirement, were read into the record.
The Brookings County Board of Adjustment on Feb. 3 approved variance 2026-001 allowing Thielen Farms (applicant Nathan Thielen) to install a grain leg and a 20-by-60-foot cement unloading pad closer to South Dakota Highway 13 than the zoning ordinance normally permits.
Staff described the request as a 10-foot variance for a grain leg to be 40 feet from the right-of-way and a pad edge to be 15 feet from the right-of-way, where the required setback for agricultural structures is 50 feet. "South Dakota Department of Transportation does not object to the variance request as long as it is located outside of the right of way," Staff member (voice 3) read as part of the board's findings. Staff also noted an earlier 2008 variance for existing bins and that public notices were published in the Brookings Register and the Elkton Record in January 2026.
A commissioner seeking clarification asked, "So if we approve it, he won't have to come back to get a variance separate for that?" (Committee member, voice 8). Staff confirmed that the overhead bulk bin was included in the approval so the applicant would not need a separate variance later, provided construction begins and the project is used within three years or the approval becomes invalid. The roll call recorded affirmative votes from Kelly VanderWaal, Tim Paulson, Cody Clark, Justin De Groot, Kyle Vanderwall, Neil Troyan, Randy Jensen and Darrell Kleinjohn; the motion passed and staff will deliver the written findings and approved variance to the applicant.
