Colfax County District Court – Kristina Kamler
After the county’s Board of Commissioners approved a permit to operate a livestock feeding operation, neighbors to the proposed facility appealed and asked the District Court to void the permit. We argued and the District Court agreed that the decision of the Board of Commissioners complied with applicable statutes concerning county governance. Mainly, a statutory requirement that a local government issue findings of facts with its conditional use decisions exists to ensure the governing body has acted impartially and afforded members of the public procedural due process. It is not intended to impose a heavy burden on county officials. So long as the factual basis for the decision is articulated, recorded in the record, supported by evidence in the record, and otherwise complies with the county’s zoning regulations, the decision should be upheld.