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A proposal to restrict development on prime farmland also saw major revision from previous versions, after commissioners and an ordinance-revision task force worried the plan would infringe on the rights of property owners.
The proposals discussed at the open house would implement new development guidelines in so-called overlay districts that would protect sensitive lands and promote land conservation or agricultural production.
The sensitive-lands proposal would prevent new construction on bluffs steeper than a 30 percent grade. Bluffs between 12 percent and 30 percent would be subject to impervious-surface guidelines and other restrictions.
Another proposal has been revised to divide the county into two districts, one intended to accommodate agricultural production and the other to encourage land conservation.
The ag-production district would be in the county’s western half and restrict any development denser than one non-farm building per 160 acres. Landowners could seek a permit to develop more densely if the site wasn’t on tillable land and if it was less than a mile from an incorporated village or city.
The conservation district would cover the county’s eastern half and follow the current guideline of one non-farm building per 40 acres.
The county’s existing feedlot setback of 1,000 feet would be reduced to 500 feet within that district.
Thursday’s event didn’t generate the same buzz as a previous open house for the zoning ordinance, when more than 150 residents protested a proposal to change the county’s feedlot permitting process.
At Thursday’s meeting, Minnesota City resident Don Evanson said the overlay-district proposals are too broad and don’t allow for differences between specific sites.
“It’s a blanket policy,” Evanson said. “Everything should be looked at individually.”
Joe Morse, president of Bluff Land Environmental Watch, said the proposed restrictions on bluffland development don’t go far enough. Morse suggests development proposals on slopes greater than 12 percent should be subject to a professional feasibility study.
“Then you’d know a professional person has put his license on the line,” Morse said.
The county plans to hold public hearings on the ordinance changes in July.
Contact Mark Sommerhauser at (507) 453-3514 or msommerhauser@winonadailynews.com
