The City of Lennox will hold a public hearing on January 28, 2021 regarding the re-zoning of 27961 South Dakota Highway 17.
The hearing begins at 7 p.m. on January 28, 2021 at Lennox City Hall (107 South Main). The meetings are also available on the City’s YouTube channel.
As reported in the Dec. 3, 2020 issue of The Lennox Independent, the re-zone is for the potential food manufacturer that is looking to come to Lennox. City Administrator Nathan Vander Plaats confirmed that the food manufacturer would slaughter 40-50 head of cattle a day, with a maximum of 100-125.
Vander Plaats first brought up this potential new business at the Nov. 23 meeting. He explained that the city was interested in rezoning a parcel of land in the Industrial Park, from Light Industrial to Heavy Industrial.
Vander Plaats wrote in a memo, “In August, the City of Lennox was approached about a potential food manufacturer searching for a location in southeast South Dakota. Once we confirmed that city utilities were sufficient for the needs of this manufacturer, the City began discussing potential locations with the manufacturer.”
The property being considered is located at 27961 South Dakota Highway 17. It is owned by the Gene Kuper family. The land was annexed into the City several years ago.
At the November 2020 meeting, the land originally being considered was Parcel 250.15.00.E00. That property is owned by the Lennox Area Development Corporation and is across from the High School.
Now, the re-zoning is looking at property a bit farther away from the high school, right off of HWY 17, directly south of Wilson Trailer, where currently a building sits on the northeast corner of Kuper Farms.
Vander Plaats said this property would be the most affordable location to add utilities.
Once the Planning and Zoning consider the rezoning, it will move on to the Lennox City Council. If the council approves the rezoning ordinance, the project could move forward to the next step of the zoning process, which would be a conditional use permit.
Vander Plaats said, “With the change in the location, this plant would be the first step, kind of the catalyst, in creating the next phase of the Industrial Park. We need to capitalize on opportunities to grow the community on HWY 17.”
The manufacturer plans to construct a $6m to $8m facility, and employ 40 to 50 employees, with an additional 75 employees at maximum capacity.
Vander Plaats had stated in his memo, “This will significantly improve the value of this property, and increase property tax revenues for the city, county, and school district by more than $100,000 per year, relieving tax levy growth on residential properties… Lennox could potentially see employment earnings increase by more than $1.5m in the first year, and over $4.4m in employment earnings at full capacity.”
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