Day County zoning board turns down farmer’s permit for barn

A farmer’s request for a conditional use permit to build a finishing barn for 480-head of cattle was turned down Tuesday by the Day County Planning and Zoning Board..

Scott Shiley had planned to build the barn on land 14 miles southwest of Webster in York Township. The permit was for a Class D Confined Animal Feeding Operation which is necessary for herds of 50 to 499 cattle.

The vote was two to two with one board member abstaining. Rick Tobin and Darrell Hildebrant voted in favor of the proposal while Linda Walters and Jim Thompkins voted against it. Gary Block abstained.

The members of the planning and zoning board are the Day County Commissioners.

Because there was no majority the permit could not be granted, said Dari Schlotte, Day County director of equalization and planning and zoning administrator.

There were several citizens who spoke for and against the proposal at the hearing at the Day County Courthouse, Schlotte said. One neighbor who lived .8 miles away said he was against the facility being built because of air quality concerns, Schlotte said.

Shiley had met the conditions for the permit including the one-half mile setback from neighbors, he said.

The main complaint seemed to be air quality, Schlotte said.

This is the first time the planning and zoning board has considered a zoning request since standards went into place in 2010.

AgUnited for South Dakota had encouraged farmers and ranchers in the Webster area to support Shiley’s request.

“Scott is a young farmer hoping to continue his family’s 100-plus year tradition of farming in the area,” AgUnited said in a news release.