Changes could cut size of Parker chicken farm in half

A new set of rules for feedlots in Turner County cut by half the number of chickens that could be placed near Parker, but opponents might still bring the rules to a public vote.

The Turner County Planning Commission voted Tuesday to pass the same 2014 zoning ordinance shot down by a lawsuit earlier this year, with one notable exception: No producer could put more than the equivalent of 10,000 animals in one place.

The rules leave in place the controversial animal equivalency figure suggested last year by an executive with Sonstegard Foods, which hoped to build a 6-million chicken egg-laying operation near Parker.

The maximum number of chickens allowable in one place under that calculation would be 3.3 million.

The rest of the ordinance is the same. It removes county-level requirements for manure management that agriculture boosters say duplicated the state’s rules for feedlot permitting, and shortens the distance between feedlots and homes, schools or cities.

“We were looking to compromise,” said Turner County farmer Rich Vasgaard, who offered input on the 2014 rules. “We’re not perfectly happy with it, they’re not totally happy with it, but that’s what compromise is.”

Commissioner Mick Miller told the crowd of about 40 before the vote that months of work it took to hammer out changes last year produced a solid set of rules for development in the county, which lies southwest of Sioux Falls.

“I think our 2014 document is a good document. It’s not the best document. You could have a new document every week and someone would have a problem with it,” Miller said before the unanimous vote in favor of approval.

The compromise wasn’t strong enough, opponents said. Parker resident John Chicoine doesn’t believe the new ordinance offers enough of a balance between rural and urban land uses. A section that required a plan for the removal of animal carcasses was struck from the 2008 ordinance, for example, though it does require disposal to control flies.

If the Turner County Commission approves the ordinance next month, Chicoine said he expects that petitions will circulate to put the ordinance to a vote. That could happen early next year.

“All over the county, people are asking about that,” Chicoine said. “I think the citizens of Turner County would vote this down.”

The suggestions made by the opposition were ignored throughout the public hearings, according to Katie Overvaag. The only changes to the original 2014 ordinance were the 10,000 animal cap and the inclusion of the animal equivalency figure

"It's as though they were just going through the motions of a public hearing," Overvaag said.

As to the animal unit changes, Overvaag said that change doesn't mean much if the closer setbacks remain.

"Three million chickens, with the setbacks they have, is still too many," Overvaag said.

The proposal for an egg-laying operation near Parker is still on the table, according to Peter Sonstegard, VP of sales for Sonstegard Foods, but the company doesn’t intend to move forward on any South Dakota development until there’s certainty on the ordinance.

If completed at half its original size, Sonstegard Foods’ operation would still be one of the largest in South Dakota. Rembrandt Foods, a market competitor, earned a permit for a 5.1 million chicken farm near Lake Preston earlier this year.

“We’re always evaluating our options and we’re continuing to pursue a location in South Dakota,” said Sonstegard, whose company has an egg-laying facility in Iowa. “Turner County needs to do what’s best for Turner County.”

The initial passage of the 2014 ordinance in Turner County was tossed by a judge in September after a group of Sonstegard opponents brought a lawsuit over its passage. Overvaag was one of the plaintiffs.

The planning commission held more than a half dozen public meetings on the ordinance changes throughout 2014, with much of the input coming from ag producers like Vasgaard. The planning commission sent the final rules on to the full county commission near the end of the summer.

Just before final passage, however, Peter Sonstegard sent a fax outlining the animal unit figures used in Moody County, which offered a separate calculation for chickens in dry manure feedlots.

Sonstegard had yet to apply for a permit at that time.

The commission incorporated the fax’s setbacks without sending the changes back to the planning commission for a public hearing, which Judge Tim Bjorkman determined was a violation of South Dakota law.

The plaintiffs have asked the county and Sonstegard Foods to pay attorney's fees, but that matter remains unresolved.

The ordinance that passed Tuesday will now head once again to the full county commission for review. On Dec. 29, the commission will either hold a first reading or set a date for a first reading. Any referendum would follow a second reading and a final vote.

Overvaag says a referendum "definitely an option we are considering."

John Hult is the Reader's Watchdog reporter for Argus Leader Media. Contact him with questions and concerns at 605-331-2301, 605-370-8617. You can tweet him @ArgusJHult or find him on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/ArgusReadersWatchdog