The Fillmore County Planning Commission held its first meeting of 2025 on May 22. Trinity Johnson was elected chair and Steve Duxbury was elected vice chair. Board members Trinity Johnson, Gary Ruskell and Richard Junge were absent.
John Reinhart, Midwest Industrial Fuels Inc., DBA Consolidated Energy Company, had applied for a conditional use permit for a propane storage and distribution facility to be located on property (three acres) owned by Miriam Harstad in section 16 of Harmony Township. The property is zoned agricultural and is just west of Harmony.
Jake Johnson, operation manager, and Kevin Walter, district manager, represented the company during the public hearing. Johnson explained the application is to install a 30,000-gallon bulk propane fuel tank to support our customer base. Safety protocols will be put into place. The closest dwelling is 521 feet from the proposed tank location.
Tom Thompson asked about the use of a township gravel road to access the site. Johnson said he had attended a Harmony Township meeting, and the supervisors have no issues with the proposed project. The gravel road (305th St.) will provide better accessibility than Hwy 44.
Wayne and Lynn Grant who live a quarter mile northeast of the location wanted to know if it will just be the tank and are there any concerns with power lines. Johnson said power lines are not an issue; it will just be the propane fuel tank, and a small utility shed on skids. Emergency numbers will be posted on a security fence which will be locked around the working end of the tank. They will work with the fire department in case of an emergency.
There were no other public comments. The CUP was approved unanimously.
Board of Adjustment, Public Hearings
Mitchell Czapiewski requested a 600-foot variance from the 1,000-foot setback from a dwelling required, in order to build a 152-foot by 40-foot barn with a concrete floor for 650 pigs. There will be 25 by 152 feet of outside space for access to outside lots. Czapiewski hopes to have pigs delivered by August. Space is limited on the 3.2-acre triangle shaped property.
Czapiewski explained he had talked to feedlot officer Dallas Dornink last fall about his plans. Czapiewski said he has a feedlot permit for 300 animal units and will stay lower than that.
There was an old building in this location. Cristal Adkins said a variance is needed because the new building will be encroaching closer to the dwelling than the original structure.
Czapiewski noted with the new facility he will need to do a manure analysis. He has been working on a plan with Dornink.
Board members asked about moving the site of the new building to the southeast away from dwelling. Czapiewski said that land is not his. MiEnergy also has a powerline on the back side.
Czapiewski said he talked with the neighbor that could be most affected; the neighbor had no issue with the plan.
There was no public comment. Board members were concerned about the size of the variance, but agreed there was limited space to work with. The 600-foot variance was approved unanimously.
Brian Aldrich requested three variances necessary to convert a shed (built in 1994) to a residence with a septic in section 28, Norway Township. Aldrich said he planned to live in the cabin full time.
The Land Use Department received a letter from the DNR this day concerning the ordinary high-water level (OHWL) setback. The DNR recommended the Board of Adjustment deny the requested variance. The proposed structure is in the floodplain based on elevation. The existing shed is a legal non-conforming structure, but it cannot be altered or expanded. Also, there is space on the 40-acre parcel where construction would not require a variance to the OHWL structure setback or septic setback variances but would require the structure to be elevated to meet the floodplain ordinance requirements. Adkins said the letter spells out the allowances.
There was no comment from the public.
Andy Bisek said he didn’t see how modifying an existing shed would be any different than building a new residence. A motion to deny the variance requiring 100-foot setback for sewage treatment system from a trout stream was unanimously agreed to. It was not necessary to deny the other variances requested as all of the variances would be necessary.
Leave a Reply