Minnehaha County Judge Nullifies Conditional Use Permit for Smithfield Foods Plant in Sioux Falls
A Minnehaha County judge has ruled against the Sioux Falls City Council, nullifying a conditional use permit (CUP) that would have allowed Smithfield Foods to build a new pork processing plant in Foundation Park. The ruling, issued by Circuit Judge Ann Hoffman, found that the City Council acted with 'irregular authority' and failed to comply with city ordinances and the Sioux Falls 2050 strategic plan when it approved the permit. The project, announced in February, aimed to replace a 100-year-old packing plant in downtown Sioux Falls with a new $1.3 billion facility in the northwest corner of the city. Over 20 nearby homeowners in rural Crooks filed a petition challenging the CUP, which would have permitted Smithfield to build closer than 1,000 feet to residential land, a distance typically prohibited for heavy industrial facilities. The judge noted that Smithfield's permit application was a single-page document that did not meet several city requirements, including a mandatory neighborhood meeting, buildi...
