Public Hearing Notices were mailed to all adjacent property owners within 1/2 mile of the project

River Valley Partners LLP - Interim Use Permit

Request:

Interim Use Permit for River Valley Partners LLP for Outdoor Cannabis Cultivation under a State of Minnesota Mezzobusiness License.  Greg Wagner, Principal Planner, is the project manager and is available for questions at 952-496-8360.

General Information:

Applicant:	River Valley Partners LLP	Site Location:	3121 150TH Street West
Property Owner:	River Valley Partners LLP	Township:	Louisville, Sections 33 & 34
Public Hearing Date:	April 13, 2026	Action Deadline:	May 5, 2026 (60 Day)

Zoning/Comprehensive Plan Information:

Zoning District:	RBR, Rural Business Reserve	Comprehensive Land Use Plan:	Rural Business Reserve
Watershed District:	Scott WMO	Fire District:	Shakopee Fire Dept.
Ordinance Sections:	Chapters 2, 16, & 17	Ambulance District:	Allina Ambulance

Report Attachments: 

1. Site Location Map
2. Aerial Photo
3. River Valley Partners LLP Application Narrative and Site Plans
4. Security Commitment & Photo Examples from Current Site
5. Parking Supplement for IUP
6. MN Office of Cannabis Management – Cannabis Mezzobusiness License

Request-          Interim Use Permit (IUP) for River Valley Partners LLP for Outdoor Cannabis Cultivation under a State of Minnesota Mezzobusiness License.

Comprehensive Plan- The 2040 Comprehensive Plan guides the property as Rural Business Reserve.

Adjacent Land Use/Zoning- North – 10-acre & 50-acre nursery parcels, zoned I-1

South – 15-acre lot with business and Ag land, zoned I-1

East – 10-acre residential lots, zoned TR

West – US Hwy 169 and 50-acre vacant parcel, zoned I-1

Existing Conditions- The subject property consists of approximately 60 acres mostly utilized by Severs Fall Festival.  Severs developed the festival amenities on 40 acres to the west and utilize the eastern 60 acres for parking and an annual corn maze.            

Ordinance Requirements-                                 Cannabis Setbacks:

-1,000 feet to a property line of a school, church/place of worship, or another cannabis retail business. 

-500 feet to a property line of a day care, residential treatment facility, public park attraction used by minors.

- 500 feet to a neighboring residence not on the same parcel as the cannabis use. 

Proposed Development- Cultivation Area Setbacks:

-There are no schools, places of worship, or another cannabis retail business within 1000 feet. 

-The nearest licensed daycare is 1.4 miles away; no known residential treatment facilities are in the area, and the nearest public park area is the MN Valley Wildlife Refuge located approximately 2,200 feet to the west across US Highway 169. 

- The nearest neighboring residence is 680 feet away.   

Existing Roads- The site has frontage on US Highway 169 and on County Road 14 (150^th Street West).  Access comes off of County Road 14 at an intersection with Louisville Road on the north side of the county road. Turn lanes were installed as part of the 2019 frontage road improvement project.

Proposed Roads- No new roads are proposed.   

Public Hearing Notice- Required public hearing notices were mailed to all adjacent property owners within ¼ mile of the project.

Background:

River Valley Partners LLP is requesting an Interim Use Permit (IUP) to conduct Outdoor Cannabis Cultivation on 60-acres in Sections 33 and 34 of Louisville Township.  Following the State of Minnesota’s passing of legislation allowing cannabis cultivation, manufacturing, wholesaling, and retail sales, Scott County adopted cannabis land use standards in 2024 to regulate cannabis uses in the township areas.  Cannabis businesses must obtain a license from the State of Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management (OCM), which requires local government approval as part of the license.

Scott County requires an IUP for cannabis cultivation for properties in the Rural Business Reserve (RBR) zoning district.  River Valley Partners LLP operates the Severs Fall Festival from early September to the end of October annually, and a holiday drive-through lights display from the end of November through the holidays annually.  Approximately 28 acres of the 60-acre property is an open alfalfa field that is utilized for fall festival parking.  They are proposing to change the southern 6 acres of the parking field for their outdoor cannabis cultivation use.

Per their narrative and submittal information, River Valley Partners LLP has a State OCM Cannabis Mezzobusiness License (dba as Bella Blami LLC) for cannabis cultivation, manufacturing, extraction & concentration, production, and retail.  Their production, manufacturing and retail is located in Minneapolis, per the license, and they have an existing outdoor cultivation site in Eden Prairie.  They are proposing to add the 6-acre outdoor cultivation in Scott County to increase the amount of cannabis produced for their retail business.

Analysis:

River Valley Partners LLP has an approved OCM Cannabis Mezzobusiness License that includes an endorsement for adult-use cultivation.  They are in the process of amending the license to include the proposed 6-acre outdoor grow area; however, this process requires local government approval per local ordinances, which, as indicated, Scott County requires an IUP for cannabis cultivation. Outdoor cultivation ordinance regulations require setbacks from specific land uses, fencing, and security be installed according to the State of Minnesota OCM requirements.

As noted in their narrative, River Valley Partners LLP currently have outdoor cultivation occurring on their home farm property located in the City of Eden Prairie.  The security fencing and camera images included in their application narrative are photos from their Eden Prairie location.  This facility was inspected and approved by the State OCM, which will also inspect the Louisville site once that fencing/security has been installed. 

The 6-acre outdoor cultivation is proposed in the far southern end of a 28-acre alfalfa field that the applicants utilize for parking for their fall festival.  As noted in the attached parking supplement, Severs have learned in their first 5 years of operations at this site that the parking area is approximately 30% (8-acres) larger than they need for the festival.  Based on aerial photography, staff concurs that the north end of the field has not been utilized for festival parking. 

Outdoor cannabis cultivation allows one crop during the growing season each year, which means that the crop would be harvested prior to any festival operations, similar to how they have been harvesting alfalfa off of the parking area annually. 

River Valley Partners has included a letter from their security consultant, ECSI Security System Integrators, who would install a minimum 6-foot security fence, security cameras, alarms, and monitoring similar to the existing cultivation site in Eden Prairie.  The fencing will have fabric to obscure view into the cultivation area, and all security and fencing will be inspected by the State OCM prior to amending the mezzobusiness license.  Additionally, the 6-acres is on the far south end of the existing alfalfa field, which is approximately ¼ mile from County Road 14, and adjacent residences to the east have their homes within a wooded area to help screen their view.

County Ordinance has adopted setbacks from cannabis uses to the property line of certain uses or to a residence on adjacent properties.  The setbacks are 1000 feet to the property line of a school, church/worship facility, or another cannabis business; 500 feet to the nearest property line of a daycare, residential treatment facility, or public park attraction; and 500 feet to a neighboring residence existing and not on the same parcel at time of application.  As noted above, there are no schools or places of worship within 1000 feet, it is 1.4 miles to the nearest licensed daycare, 2,200 feet to the nearest public park, and 680 feet to the nearest adjacent residence, thus exceeding all setbacks. 

Township Recommendation:

The Louisville Town Board will make a recommendation at their April 2026 monthly meeting.  A copy of the recommendation will be provided at the public hearing.

Staff Recommendation:

Subject to the conditions of approval, the Interim Use Permit conforms to the Zoning Ordinance; therefore, staff recommends approval of the Interim Use Permit based on the criteria for approval listed below:

Conditions to be Satisfied Prior to County Board Consideration:

1. Any conditions listed in the Louisville Township review of the Interim Use Permit.

Criteria for Approval:

1. The use does not create a burden on public facilities and utilities which serve or are proposed to serve the area. No public facilities or utilities will be used for the outdoor crop cultivation.

2. The use is sufficiently compatible and screened from adjacent land uses so as not to deter use or development of adjacent parcels. The proposed outdoor cultivation meets all required cannabis setback requirements.  The area is currently used as an alfalfa field, so the site will continue to be used for agricultural crop production.

3. The use will not impact the appearance of the property and thus is not unsightly in appearance. Per state regulations, the outdoor cultivation must be fenced (min 6-foot high) and obscure or have a cover that obscures the fenced area from being readily viewed from outside the fenced area.   

4. Adequate measures have been taken to provide ingress & egress to minimize traffic congestion, access to public roads, and on-site parking.  The property has driveway access to 150^th Street West, County Road 14.  The cannabis crop is planted and harvested during the growing season, which will occur prior to the fall festival.  

5. Adequate water supply, Individual Sewage Treatment System facilities, erosion control, and stormwater management are provided in accordance with applicable standards. No septic or stormwater facilities are proposed for the agricultural use.

6. All buildings/structures used for the growing operation meet the intent of the State Building Code and/or fire codes. No structures are proposed for the outdoor grow.

 

Conditions of Approval:

1. The applicant is to file with Scott County Zoning Administration in January of each year a letter stating that he is in compliance with the Conditional Use Permit.

2. This Interim Use Permit may be annually reviewed by the Township at a time and in a manner as prescribed by the Louisville Town Board.

3. The applicant shall pay an annual inspection/licenses fee for the Interim Use Permit, if and when the Scott County Board of Commissioners adopts an inspection or licenses fee ordinance.

4. This Interim Use Permit is issued for use of the subject property for the outdoor cannabis cultivation of 6-acres as outlined in application narrative and site plan.  No retail sales of cannabis products are permitted from this property.  Any modification or expansion of the outdoor cannabis cultivation will require this Interim Use Permit to be reviewed by the Louisville Town Board and Scott County Zoning Administration. 

5. The outdoor cannabis cultivation shall be operated according to the applicant’s narrative and site plan.  If at any time the conditions of this permit vary from the narrative or site plan, the permit conditions control and shall be followed.   

6. The outdoor cannabis cultivation operation shall at all times be in compliance with the Office of Cannabis Management license requirements and rules.  This includes items such as setbacks, visibility, screening, fencing, waste disposal, water runoff, security, and lighting.  Any violations of the state license or rules may result in revocation of this permit.

 

Township Board/Planning Advisory Commission Alternatives:

1. Approve the request as recommended by Zoning Administration Staff with the specified conditions.

2. Approve the request as recommended by the Zoning Administration Staff with amendments to the conditions.

3. Table the request for a specific reason.

4. Deny the request for a specific reason.

Suggested Planning Commission Motion:

Based on the criteria for approval listed in the staff report, I recommend approval of the Interim Use Permit for River Valley Partners LLP for Outdoor Cannabis Cultivation, noting that this recommendation is subject to the conditions that must be satisfactorily addressed prior to County Board consideration of the IUP.