REDV1 04D CQUNTY ENYIRQNI ENTAL QFFICE PO BOX 130

REDWOOD FALLS

Planning Zonr'ng • Parl.s Trails IS MINNESOTA 56283

r PH: 507-637-4023Aqruatic/ nvasivc Sp cies S ptrc̀/ nspector

l)rainage Ins eetor Agrieulte r 1 tnspeetar

REDWOOD COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION

MINUTES

Meeting Date: July 27, 2020

A meeting of the Redwood County Planning Commission convened on Monday, the 27`" day of July, 2020, at theRedwood County Government Center.

The following members of the Redwood County Planning Commission were present: Mike Kaufenberg, JeffHuseby, DeVonna Zeug, and Commissioner Dave Forkrud. Mike Scheffler and Mark Madsen were absent. Alsopresent were the following individuals: Jeff Potter, Tim Wertish, Tyler pomeier, Tom Morley, Steve Nelson,Jason Behrendt, Ken Behrendt, Chris Baker, Danette Baker, Mary Potter, Sandy Nestande, Mike Fier, SteveTisue, Candace Tisue, Environmental Director Scott Wold, Land Use & Zoning Supervisor Nick Brozek, andAdministrative Assistant Lali Ortega.

At 1: 00 p.m. the regularly scheduled July 27th, 2020 Redwood County Planning Commission meeting was called

to order by Vice-Chair Huseby.

Vice-Chair Huseby then read the Planning Commission rules and procedures, which were also printed andavailable to the public.

At 1: 02 p.m. Vice-Chair Huseby called to order a public hearing on Application for Rezoning# 2- 20R, submittedby Tim Wertish/Redwood Auto Sales LLC.

Prior to the Planning Commission meeting, the Planning Commission members were provided an informationalpacket, which included the following information regarding the matter:

1. Tim Wertish is requesting to rezone property from" A" Agricultural to `B- 1" Highway Service Business

District. The property to be rezoned is a 5- acre parcel ( tax ID #63- 012- 1100) located east of US Hwy 71,4 of a mile south of the City of Redwood Falls. The property is located on the corner of the US Hwy 71

right-of-way and 327th Street. The property is accessed from 327th Street.

2. Currently, Mr. Wertish stores a large number of older and collectible cars and trucks on the property,which is a former rural dwelling/farm site. Such storage is a permitted use in the B- 1 District. However,if rezoning to B- 1 is approved, Mr. Wertish, or any subsequent owner, could then undertake any of theuses permitted in B- 1.

3. Existing trees and shrubs that were part of the dwelling site grove and field windbreak partially screenthe property from the public roads.

Page 1 of 8

4. A number of the properties adjacent to Wertish' s property are already zoned B- 1 or I- 1 Industry District.This includes the properties on the north side of 327th Street, and part of the property on the west side ofUS Hwy 71.

5. County Ditch 52 open ditch is located about 200 feet from the southeast corner of Wertish' s property.There is no public drainage tile located on the property.

6. Neighbaring property uses include commercial, industrial, and farm businesses, agricultural fields, andpersonal dwellings.

7. The three closest residences to the property proposed to be rezoned are: 1) a dwelling located at 32746US Hwy 71, 350 feet west of the property; 2) a dwelling located at 33295 327th Street, 450 feetnorthwest of the property; and 3) a dwelling located at 32843 Us Hwy 71, 660 feet north of the property.

Tim Wertish was present at the meeting to explain the rezoning request. Wertish made the following statementsto the Commission:

He is seeking to rezone a farm site on the south side of Redwood Falls.He uses the property to store antique vehicles.The site is currently zoned agricultural and he wants to rezone to commercial to be in compliance withthe county far vehicle storage.

The Planning Commissioners asked how many cars are on the site. Wertish stated he has about 100 vehicles onthe property.

Vice-Chair Huseby asked if there was anyone present who wanted to speak in support of the project. SteveNelson made the following statements:

Nelson is a Supervisor on the Redwood Falls Township Board.He supports Wertish in his endeavor.

He has watched Wertish' s progress on the site and Wertish has done a fine job maintaining the property.The Township has no objection to the rezoning application.He hopes Wertish continues to maintain the property.

Vice-Chair Huseby asked if there was anyone present who wanted to speak in opposition to the project. Nonecame forward.

Vice-Chair Huseby closed the public hearing at 1: 09 p.m.

Zeug made a motion to recommend approval of Application for Rezoning # 2- 20R.

Kaufenberg seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.

Brozek stated that the Planning Commission' s recommendation would be taken to the County Board ofCommissioners on August 4, 2020.

At 1: 15 p.m. Vice-Chair Huseby called to order a public hearing on Conditional Use Permit# 5- 20, submitted byJason Behrendt.

Brozek then read the Planning Commission rules and procedures, which were also printed and available to thepublic.

Page 2 of 8

Prior to the Planning Commission meeting, the Planning Commission members were provided an informationalpacket, which included the following information regarding the matter:

1. Jason Behrendt is proposing to operate a livestock carcass transfer station and truck parking facility on aformer farm building site on the corner of County Hwy 6 and 3 l Oth Street, in section 24 of SheridanTownship.

2. Mr. Behrendt' s company picks up and hauls carcasses for rendering. The trucks that drop off thecarcasses at the rendering plants cannot also be used to pick up livestock from farms. Consequently,Behrendt needs a place to transfer carcasses between trucks.

3. The proposed transfer facility site is located in the Agricultural District. Redwood County Code ofOrdinance Section 153. 142( A)(30) states that" transfer stations" are a conditional use in the Agricultural

District. Consequently, Mr. Behrendt was asked to apply for a Conditional Use Permit.

4. Mr. Behrendt has already poured a 50' x 60' concrete slab with 6' tall cement side walls. The pad issloped 6" down toward the back to prevent rainwater run-of£ Per an email from Courtney Wheeler,Senior Veterinarian at the Minnesota Board of Animal Health, this meets the state rules regarding

livestock carcass disposal and transportation. The email states that the site meets the requirements of

Minnesota Rule 1721. 0730 and is " at least 200 yards from any adjacent premises or water supply well."Carcasses are required to be picked up within 72 hours.

5. Mr. Behrendt' s plan is to dump deadstock straight trucks onto the slab and load the carcasses onto semi-trailers using a pay loader. He estimates that they will load 1 or 2 semi- trailers per day, 4 to 5 days perweek. The product being handled is whole carcasses off farms (hogs and cattle). There will be no animal

parts or slaughter plant bi-products on the site. The longest the carcasses will be left on the slab will be acouple of hours.

6. There are two neighboring residences within '/2 of a mile of the site. They are as follows: Jeff Potter,28055 310th Street, about 750 feet northeast of the site; and a residence owned by Ramona Potter,

31012 County Hwy 6, about 890 north of the site.

7. A county drain tile, a branch of Judicial Ditch 6, is located north of the site. The tile (8") starts about 875

feet west of the site and bends north, across 310th Street, where it increases to 10". It then comes back

under 310th before crossing underneath County Hwy 6 in the northeast corner of Behrendt' s property.The tile is about 300' away from the proposed transfer facility at its closest point. The tile eventuallydrains into an unnamed stream, which empties into the Redwood River, about 1 mile northeast of thesite.

8. The site has two access points from County Hwy 6.

9. A copy of the Conditional Use Permit application, maps, plans, and proposed permit conditions areenclosed.

Jason Behrendt and Ken Behrendt were present at the meeting to explain the project. The Behrendts made thefollowing statements to the Commission:

They operate a rendering transport company. They pick up dead animals off of farms and deliver themto various rendering plants in MN and IA.They deliver to South Saint Paul, Sioux City, Blue Earth, Redwood Falls, and Estherville, IA, dependingon which plant has capacity.Some rendering plants can only accept certain types of trucks.

Page 3 of 8

They have constructed a concrete bunker, on which to offload dead animals from their straight trucks,and reload onto semi-trucks.

Animals will be on the concrete a maximum of 1 or 2 hours. They will never be left there overnight oron weekends.

If a truck breakdown occurs, causing more time between loading, the semi- trailer will be tarped andparked in the shed on the site.

They will have 1 to 2loads per day on weekdays. They may occasionally have to haul on a Saturday too,if weather prevents pick-up during the week.They have been transferring animals between trucks on the site already for three years, but have beentransferring directly from truck to truck with the grapples on the straight trucks, which is slower andrequires the animals to be on site for more time. This new process will speed things up.

Vice-Chair Huseby asked if there was anyone present who wanted to speak in support of the project. No onecame forward.

Vice-Chair Huseby asked if there was anyone present who wanted to speak in opposition to the project. Thefollowing individuals made statements, as follows:

Jeff Potter:

o Potter is a neighbar, his house is 600 feet away from the site.o His sister' s house is 800 feet from the site.o They have had animal smell during the summer, and at times they can' t sit outside.o The site has " no provision for rainwater."

o The diagram of the site submitted by Behrendt doesn' t show the two county tile intakes near theproperty.

o Potter has 4 wells within '/4 of a mile of the site and doesn' t want them to be contaminated.o He is worried about disease being transferred from the site.o Potter custom feeds cattle on his farm site. His producers are concerned about biosecurity. Some

of the cattle are worth $ 10, 000 to $20,000.

o He brought letters from some of the local landowners who couldn' t make it to the meeting, andfrom some of his cattle producers.

o Potter has lived here since 1969.

o He is against the project.

o He talked to Dr. Brian Hoefs at BAH and was told that this sort of site is " uncharted territory."o The two tile intakes go " straight to the Redwood River."

o The regulations for this site should be similar to Central Bi-products.o Dumping and loading the animals from the concrete is going to leave slime on the concrete.

Where is rinse water going to go?Mike Fier:

o Fier is with the MN Board of Animal Health (BAH).o He is neither for nor against the project, but has worked with the Behrendts to make sure they are

following the state rules.o He has been out to the site. Jason takes good care of it.o This site is considered a" collecting station" under state BAH rules, which requires that carcasses

be picked up within 12 hours.o There is only one other such site in the state.o Fier is responsible to inspect the site for compliance on behalf of BAH. When doing inspections,

he looks at the following:Rodent/pest control

Biosecurity— nothing falling out on the ground, nothing outside of the concrete padDisease monitoring program— diseased animals cannot be hauled in (for instance, hoofand mouth disease)

Page 4 of 8

Concrete floor structural integrityEquipment cleaned before going off siteDrainage— review how handled— can collect in honey wagon and haul away.

o The concrete pad is well-built and sloped to the back to contain runoff.

o After cleaning up the animals, the pad can be sprayed down with disinfectant.o The biggest issue on the site will be rodents and insects.

o The structural integrity of the concrete block walls must be maintained.o He will conduct surprise inspections of the site 3 or 4 times per year.

o The BAH has no setback from wells for this type of site.

o Behrendt should be able to control odor on the site, but probably won' t completely eliminate it.o The pad could take 15" of rain before it would run off.

o Behrendt could use fencing to control access by wild animals.o Rendering is an important way of disposing of carcasses.

Chris Baker:

o He lives 800 feet from the site.

o Who has been inspecting the site for the last three years?o Coyotes are coming closer, from the river, because of this site.o There has been animal parts dropped on the ground.

o Water table issues.

o The smell is horrible.

o The flies are horrible. Baker has a white truck and it has been covered in" fly crap."o When the trucks drive by you can smell them for 10 minutes.o He can' t open his windows, ar go outside, when the wind is from the south.o He thinks using the concrete slab to transfer the carcasses will make the smell worse.o The trucks are noisy on the road, every 10 to 15 minutes.o Why was this site selected for this by Behrendt?

Steve Nelson:

o Nelson lives 3/ 4 of a mile from the site and has not had any odor at his place.o He is concerned about what this site will do to Potter' s property values.

Brozek read aloud the four letters received from area landowners and Potter' s cattle producers. They were fromKatie Muelenhardt, Stephen Sinner, Jay Watje, and Kirby Josephson. All are against the project.

The Behrendts had the following responses to the concerns of the opposition:They can put up a game camera to monitor coyotes.They have two cats on the site to reduce rodents.They spray for flies. Their trucks are all white, and they never have any fly waste on them.They only have 4 route trucks.Half their trucks are straight trucks and half are semis.

They understand concerns about biosecurity. But Potter and another neighbor have both brought deadanimals over to the site and dumped them in the trucks.

They chose this site because it is on a highway. It' s not easy to find a site to buy on a highway. Also,they have a livestock hauling business and truck wash on a different site, and they can' t keep renderingtrucks and livestock trucks on the same property.

If there are weather or mechanical problems, they can park the trucks in the shed.Full trucks are always tarped.

Any loads that can go directly to the plant do so, so not all carcasses that are picked up are hauled to thissite.

Kaufenberg asked why Behrendt can' t dump the loads at Central Bi-products. Behrendt responded that theyhave been asking Central Bi-products to make space for that for years, but they won' t do it. Central Bi-products

Page 5 of 8

requires that Behrendt drop off animals using Central Bi-products trailers. Also, starting three years ago CentralBi-products will no longer take all their product, because they reduced their capacity ( in prior years theyoperated over capacity, which created a lot of odor issues at the plant). This forces Behrendt to take loads to

other plants, in semi- trucks. But Behrendt can' t pick up the animals in semi- trucks because it takes 3 times aslong.

Potter stated that he is getting two appraisals of his property, from David Mattison, an appraiser. He wants moretime to get these done.

Brozek stated that the Planning Commission can table the hearing if they think they need more information.

Vice-Chair Huseby closed the public hearing at 1: 55 p.m.

Forkrud stated that he wants to see an appraisal of Potter' s property.

Kaufenberg stated that he has no objection to tabling the matter in order to get an idea of the impact on propertyvalues.

Zeug stated that she wants more information about the other site like this in the state. She further stated that she

would like to resume the hearing, if tabled, sooner than the next regular Planning Commission meeting at theend of August.

Fier stated that he is not the inspector for the other site, and recommended that they get a hold of CourtneyWheeler at BAH. Brozek said he could do that.

Kaufenberg made a motion to table the hearing until August 31, 2020, at 1: 00 p.m. Forkrud seconded themotion.

Forkrud, Kaufenberg, and Huseby voted in favor of the motion. Zeug voted against the motion. The motionpassed, 3 to l.

Brozek stated that notice of the continued meeting would be mailed to everyone who had signed in on the sign-in sheet, and to everyone who originally received mailed notice.

At 2: 12 p.m. Vice-Chair Huseby called to order a public hearing on Conditional Use Permit# 6- 20, submitted byTyler pomeier.

Brozek then read the Planning Commission rules and procedures, which were also printed and available to thepublic.

Prior to the Planning Commission meeting, the Planning Commission members were provided an informationalpacket, which included the following information regarding the matter:

1. Tyler pomeier is proposing to operate a dog training kennel on an existing rural dwelling site located at32988 River Road, Redwood Falls. The dogs will be boarded at the site during the course of theirtraining. Mr. Domeier plans to have 8 to 15 dogs on the site at any given time.

2. The property is located in the Agricultural District. Redwood County Code of Ordinances Section153. 142(A)(2) states that " any private or commercial dog kennel" is a conditional use in the AgriculturalDistrict. Section 153. 007(B) defines a" kennel" as " a place where three or more of any single type of

Page 6 of 8

domestic animals, over four months in age, are boarded, bred, or offered for sale." Consequently, Mr.Domeier was required to apply for a Conditional Use Permit. The property is currently owned by Jamesand Amber Tisue. James Tisue signed the CUP application as the landowner.

3. The buildings on the property include a house with attached garage, and some other outbuildings.Domeier plans to use the attached garage as the boarding area. The garage is insulated and has heat andAC.

4. Mr. Domeier plans to fence in a large outdoor are behind the garage for use as an outdoor run for the

dogs. Also, he wants to use a field along River Road as a training area. Additional training will takeplace off site, on public lands.

5. The dogs will be kept in modular, prefabricated kennel stalls in the garage. The stalls have lockingdoors, open-air design, and built-in drain system. The stalls will be cleaned daily either into the septicsystem, or field applied per agronomic rates. Dogs will only be taken outside the enclosure for trainingone at a time and will always be under the direct control of the trainer.

6. The three nearest rural dwellings to the project site are as follows: ( 1) Zachary Lundberg, 32785 RiverRoad, about 1700 feet north of the site; ( 2) Ramona Larsen, 32644 River Road, about 2000 feet

northwest of the site; and ( 3) Jared Amberg, 32557 County Hwy 25, about 2600 feet southwest of thesite.

7. There is no county drainage tile or open ditch near the site.

8. A copy of the Conditional Use Permit application, maps, plans, and proposed permit conditions areenclosed

Tyler pomeier was present at the meeting to explain the project. Domeier made the following statements to theCommission:

He currently operates a dog training facility at Sandy' s kennel. He rents space from her.He has 8 dogs at his current site, but wants to expand.

He wants his business closer to Redwood so his travel time is shorter.He trains dogs and boards them during their training. Dogs are on his site for as little as a week, up to 6or 8 months, depending on how much training they are to receive.Domeier will be there twice each day to check on the dogs.All dogs will be kept inside the garage/kennel area while Domeier is not there.He will use a quick and clean kennel system so each dog has its own separate, clean, space.He will construct an outside run so he can let the dogs out every day.He will also have a training yard in a field on the site, but most training will occur off-site, on privateproperty (pastures) by agreement with the property owners.Dogs are trained individually.

The Planning Commissioners asked whether the dogs have their shots. Domeier responded that he requirescertain shots. Owners also have to sign a permission form allowing him to bring the dogs to the closestveterinarian to get shots as needed, or for emergencies.

Vice- Chair Huseby asked if there was anyone present who wanted to speak in support of the project. SteveTisue stated that he is Domeier' s grandfather. The proposed kennel will be on family-owned property. Theclosest neighbor has dogs of his own that he breeds. The next closest neighbor is Central Bi-products.

Page 7 of 8

Vice-Chair Huseby asked if there was anyone present who wanted to speak in opposition to the project. No onecame forward.

Vice-Chair Huseby closed the public hearing at 2: 22 p.m.

The Planning Commission discussed the findings of fact (attached to permit).

Domeier asked about the proposed condition prohibiting him from breeding dogs on the site. Brozek stated thiscondition was proposed because Domeier' s application stated the kennel would be for training and boardingonly. Domeier asked about breeding his own personal dog there once or twice a year. Brozek stated that anyonecan have up to two animals for the purpose of breeding, without needing a county permit. Kaufenberg statedthat Domeier should be able to breed as many dogs as any other member of the public. Brozek stated thatwithout the condition, Domeier will be limited to two or fewer breeding dogs, per the ordinance.

Zeug made a motion to recommend approval of permit# 6- 20, subject to the conditions recommended by staff,except removing the proposed condition prohibiting dog breeding. The motion was seconded by Kaufenbergand passed unanimously.

The Commissioners reviewed and discussed the minutes from the Apri16, 2020 Planning Commission meeting.

Kaufenberg made a motion to approve the April 6, 2020 Planning Commission minutes as presented. Zeugseconded the motion and it passed unanimously.

The meeting was adjourned at 2: 32 p.m.

f

Nick Brozek Je seby, Vi - hair

Land Use & Zoning Supervisor Redwood County Planning CommissionRedwood County Environmental Office

Page 8 of 8