Board continued special animal-keeping ordinance after planning commission recommendations

At the Dec. 8, 2025 meeting, Planning Director Britney Hand reported that the Pennington County Board of Commissioners concurred with the Planning Commission’s November recommendations except for one ordinance amendment: OA 2518, the special animal keeping ordinance. The Board continued OA 2518 to the Jan. 16, 2026 Board meeting for further consideration.

When the Chair asked whether the Board had specific concerns, Hand summarized the Board’s objection as that the amendment appeared to "over regulate the number of units," and that the Board wanted to revisit that aspect. The transcript does not include further detail about which provisions the Board found over-regulatory or the specific changes it requested.

The Planning Commission’s role is advisory: its findings are forwarded to the Board of Commissioners, which makes the final decisions on ordinance amendments and land-use policy. The transcript shows OA 2518 is now scheduled for additional Board discussion on Jan. 16, 2026.