DeKalb County Commissioners approve confined feeding zone rule change

If a farm exceeds a prescribed number of animals, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management considers it a confined feeding operation. The change will allow CFOs with up to two times the IDEM standard to operate in five zoning districts in DeKalb County: A1 conservation agricultural, A2 agricultural, A3 high-intensity agricultural, I2 low-intensity agricultural and I3 high-intensity agricultural.

For a CFO with more than twice the number of animals in IDEM’s definition, a location must be zoned I2, I3 or A3. In A3 zoning, a CFO that large would have to apply for a special exception from the Board of Zoning Appeals. A special exception would not be required in I2 or I3 zoning, but a development plan for the operation still would be reviewed by the Plan Commission.

“This change allows for positive growth for agriculture in the county,” said Commissioner Randy Deetz, who is also a Plan Commission member. “It is in the direction we want to go.”