DEADWOOD - The Lawrence County Planning & Zoning Commission went back to the drawing board after a January proposal to regulate livestock operations in the county was deemed unsuitable.

The commission's revised ordinance will be presented publicly for the first time at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, July 2, at the board's regular meeting at the Lawrence County Courthouse.

The new document has some changes from a January version that was pulled by the Planning & Zoning Commission. It includes an entire new chapter on concentrated animal feeding operations, also known under the acronym CAFO.

The goal is to separate feedlots from other land uses in the county.

Planning & Zoning Commission chairman Rick Tysdal of Spearfish said the new version is a conglomeration of other similar ordinances taken from South Dakota counties that have large numbers of feedlots.

The ordinance spells out livestock producers' responsibilities when obtaining county permits for new operations.

The new regulations apply to any future or existing feeding operation.

Tysdal said there is no language in the draft ordinance allowing for existing operations to be "grandfathered in." However, the county recognizes that the ordinance would create an entire new class of nonconforming properties. Those existing livestock operations are not in the county's crosshairs, Tysdal said.

Planning & Zoning commissioners worked with a county-appointed citizen agriculture committee for a while this spring, and Tysdal said the committee's concerns were noted during the final working session.

Livestock producers wary

Jennings is a member of that citizen committee that met regularly with the P&Z officials this spring. He said the July 2 proposal will not be popular.

"I can't believe there is going to be a lot of people in favor of it," he said. "It affects a whole lot of people with only one horse."

Jennings said the regulations cover all sizes of operations and would require livestock owners to bend to the restrictions based on one complaint. The complaint could come from anyone, anywhere and threatens the viability of his beef cattle operation that keeps less than 150 cows in corrals at times during the year. Jennings runs cows on two large tracts totaling about 400 acres north of Spearfish.

"They (county) don't think about confining livestock as a management tool," he said. Cattle are kept in pens during breeding and calving and sometimes during extreme cold.

Dan Holben, who owns 40 acres of land in rural northern Lawrence County, keeps some horses, roping steers and 4-H calves on his home place. "I can't leave anything locked up for 45 days because of setback requirements (in the proposed ordinance,)" Holben said.

Mike McGuigan and his son Curtis used to live five miles from the Spearfish city limits, but now they are about a quarter mile from the city. They haven't moved, but the city has.

A new housing development now fills the pasture valley below the McGuigan's house.

"The city has moved into my setback range," Mike McGuigan said. "One complaint could put us out of business. They would have to wipe out all the setbacks for me to stay in business."

Living document

He said any new ordinance is open to change, even after it is put into law.

"We will fix problems as they come up," Tysdal said.

Tysdal said the 2009 wind energy systems ordinance is already up for changes that would lessen some restrictions on placement of wind generators.

Jennings said the intent of the framers may be to leave existing stockmen alone, but the potential and structure is there to go after the locals if a complaint is filed.

Comments?

Lawrence County livestock producers will discuss the ordinance at 7:30 p.m. Monday, June 29, at St. Onge Livestock in St. Onge.

The Lawrence County Planning & Zoning Commission meets at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, July 2, at the Lawrence County Courthouse. The meeting could be moved to Deadwood city hall since there is limited seating in the commission meeting room.

Send written comments to Lawrence County Planning & Zoning, 90 Sherman Street, Deadwood, SD 57732

An electronic copy of the proposed CAFO ordinance is available on-line at www.lawrence.sd.us/ordinances.htm

If the ordinance passes the planning commission's muster, it would go to the Lawrence County Commission for a public hearing. If the county passes the ordinance, it would also be eligible for referral to a county-wide vote.