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Winona County Zoning Ordinance Open Letter The Winona County Planning Department, the Zoning Update Task Force and the Project Planning Consultant wish to thank those who have participated in the zoning update process. Whether through attending the open house meeting in February, meeting with County staff or providing comments, your input in this process has been extremely important. Over the past month, there have been various articles, letters and reports inquiring about the zoning ordinance update, public participation and issues related to feedlots. Perhaps the biggest concern is the need for public inclusion in any process related to zoning and land use decisions. Public Participation. The large turnout during the last open house and public input related to the zoning ordinance demonstrates that people are aware of the zoning ordinance update. Based upon discussion with the task force members after the last open house, we will strive to do an even better job of informing people of future meetings and describing the content of proposed changes to the zoning ordinance. To ensure that people are better informed prior to future meetings, we will provide an open letter in the County newspaper informing people of the structure of future meetings as well as how to get printed material prior to the meeting. Printed material will be made available at least one week prior to the open house or public meeting. In addition to the announcement in the County newspaper, County staff will continue to visit with township officials prior to future meetings informing them of upcoming meetings and agendas. Feedlots. Simply put, public notifications and public hearings HAVE BEEN and WILL CONTINUE TO BE a part of any change to feedlot applications. Besides public participation, many have questioned why changing the feedlot section of the zoning ordinance is necessary. Many factors determine how, when and why feedlot Conditional Use Permits (CUP’s) are approved or denied. Almost always, a new feedlot application requires a very scientific and technical review related to order control, insect control, stocking rates, manure removal, manure management, stockpile location and management rates, runoff management and collections, holding ponds, lot maintenance, soil conditions and treatment alternatives. Most would agree that Winona County is unique due to topographic, karst (sink holes) and sensitive conditions found throughout the County. We are proposing changes to the feedlot CUP’s because of the abundance of sensitive lands throughout the county. The feedlot section of the ordinance continues to evolve and take shape. The latest proposal is to create an independent feedlot board whose sole purpose is to review feedlot applications within the County. The new board would be made up of elected officials, planning commissioners and technical representatives whose purpose is to review each application to ensure that issues related to manure management, order management, stocking rates, manure removal, stockpile location and management rates are addressed and reviewed on a yearly basis. Members of this board would be elected to serve by the County Board for two year terms. This group would evaluate each application from a technical and scientific standard and create specific conditions that relate to an individual feedlot operator. Furthermore, new changes would allow a feedlot board to annually review previously approved applications to verify the operators are in compliance with all applicable requirements and conditions. What are the biggest changes? Feedlot operators would gain approval from one board rather than two. Currently, the Planning Commission recommends approval of a feedlot to the County Board. After the Planning Commission meeting, the County Board takes action on the feedlot during a separate meeting. This can create two meetings whereby standards can change. Finally, the public would continue to be notified and public hearings held for each application. In the end, the proposed process would create a single board whose sole purpose is to ensure that due process, technical review and clear objectives are maintained. Change can be very difficult particularly when it comes to land use issues. To ensure that this type of change is closely monitored, we would recommend that this new process have a one year sunset clause to ensure that the process is working properly and without the fear of it running amuck. At the end of one year, the process would be reevaluated and presented back to the County for review. Feedlots are not the only issue that we are working on. There are many other chapters within the zoning ordinance that relate to sensitive land areas, agricultural preservation standards and zoning district standards, among others. We look forward to presenting these issues at future meetings and invite the public to participate in the process. Respectfully, Michael Darrow,
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