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Board advances Skinner Holdings zoning change after residents object over Loess Hills impacts
Summary
After public comment from multiple residents concerned about Loess Hills soils, trails and private-road maintenance, the board approved the second reading to rezone a ~35.36-acre Skinner Holdings parcel from Agricultural Preservation to Agricultural Estates; the vote carried 4–0 with one abstention (David Dietrich).
The Woodbury County Board of Supervisors advanced a zoning map amendment for a roughly 35.36-acre parcel owned by Skinner Holdings LLC, approving the second reading to rezone the property from Agricultural Preservation (AP) to Agricultural Estates (AE).
Planning and Zoning director Dan Priestley reviewed the process and said the zoning change is about density control: the applicant is pursuing a minor subdivision resulting in five lots and the planning commission recommended the applicant's proposal. Priestley said the rezone is a reading to continue the public hearing process; the subdivision plat will return to the board next week for concurrent consideration.
Multiple residents urged the board to preserve the Loess Hills character and questioned recent filings and on-site activities. Cindy Foy said she was "against the project" and asked the board to explain a recently recorded easement described as being "for use of trail system" filed in April 2024. Darlene McMullen, who lives across from the site, said she feared development would "ruin everything about the Loess Hills" and questioned whether prior clearing and roads on the parcel constituted historic preservation.
The applicant's representative, Brenton, explained that a prior, temporary trail-use agreement ended when ownership changes and that Skinner is the sole owner of Skinner Holdings. Board members and counsel pressed for soil and well-drilling considerations; supervisors noted the parcel has pockets of "Hamburg" soil that can complicate well drilling and building and discussed the potential need for soil testing and careful lot siting.
A motion to approve the second reading of the zoning ordinance map amendment was made, seconded and carried in voice vote with four supervisors in favor and David Dietrich recorded as abstaining. The board will take up the final reading and the subdivision plat at a subsequent meeting when the record and any proposed restrictions (for example, limiting the number of homes) are before the board.
