The Crookston City Council held a special meeting on Monday evening and unanimously approved a variance request from Brent Epema and B & E Meats to expand the building to add a beef and pork processing facility.
On Tuesday, October 7, the Crookston Planning Commission recommended that the variance request and the change of the zoning ordinance be approved. The City Council unanimously approved the variance request at Monday’s meeting. Crookston City Attorney Tanner Holten explained to the council what they were voting on at the meeting. “This was an application from B&E Meats to modify the setback requirements under our city code,” said Holten. “Essentially, what B&E Meats asked for and what was approved today was that the setbacks be reduced. It allows his building to be closer to the property line than our ordinances customarily would allow.”
Even though the council voted unanimously to approve the variance request, it wasn’t without some frustration from the council regarding how the city had handled things up to this point. Councilman Dylane Klatt said he is in favor of B & E Meats expanding and that it will be a valuable addition to the area, but he was disappointed in the City allowing work to proceed with a verbal permit instead of a physical building permit. “I’m just concerned about how backwards this process went. We allowed our business to start building without physically having a building permit in hand,” said Klatt. “It sounds like there might have been some verbal approvals from the city, which I’m not sure if that’s what we should be doing or not.”
Klatt didn’t think the neighbors got their due process until now. “I don’t believe the neighbors around the area had their due process before the footings were actually put in the ground,” said Klatt. “And now, this butcher facility that’s going in is needed for our community. I mean, during COVID, I couldn’t get beef butchered for two years. I was on a waiting list. So this will be something I think is needed for the community.
Klatt said if the council goes against the variance or ordinance now, it would financially ruin Epema and B & E Meats. “Going against this, I mean, we’re virtually going to bankrupt a business if we don’t allow it to go through,” said Klatt. “So I think at the end of the day, we need to allow this business to continue moving forward with this building and hopefully get through this without that much heartache.”
Klatt added that he wants to make sure the City is making sure every business has a permit in hand before starting the construction process. “I don’t know how it’s been allowed in the past, but I don’t think we should be able to let a business start building without a permit in hand and displayed. I think that’s something we shouldn’t allow to happen,” said Klatt. “What if Walmart came and started building, and they came to the council and said, Oh, we need a permit. Are we going to tell them no? You know, it’s too late. So we need to follow the process.”
The council unanimously approved the variance, so the next step will be a public hearing on the zoning request on October 20. The last step will be a special Crookston City Council meeting on Wednesday, October 22 at 5:30 p.m. when the council votes on allowing a processing facility in the industrial park.
Click on the link below to read the Planning Commission story on this subject.
Crookston Planning Commission recommends ordinance change and variance request from B & E Meats to the City Council – KROX