Bismarck’s Coleman Corn Maze – WHY Hasn’t This Been Resolved?

Back on August 9th, I wrote an article about the Coleman Corn Maze...

A controversy had developed over the right to have a Corn Maze, on YOUR property - for entertainment to the public - serve food, and have a great time for all - but for some reasons, I still don't understand, a permit was denied:

According to kfyrtv.com "...permit was denied because of a neighbor complaint and because there is no ordinance for agritourism in the county. The greenhouse said there are no rules saying the maze can’t open" A counter-argument made perfect sense though - "“This is zoned agriculture, this is obviously agriculture. Now are we moving into tourism? Absolutely. But nobody has clearly defined the difference between agritourism commercial and agriculture,” said Mary Podoll, a volunteer at the Baldwin Greenhouse and Nursery.

Burleigh County Commissioners are planning on having a public hearing

Burleigh County Commissioner Wayne Munson has said that it matters just how many people would show up - the bottom line is that an ordinance has to be set in place so that activities can be performed - and word is that "...the corn maze is under a tight deadline"

***** An update to this perplexing puzzle:*****

According to the Coleman Corn Maze Facebook page,

"We are very frustrated that the Burleigh County Commission edited their agenda at last night's meeting, and did not discuss the special use permit (SUP) for the corn maze. We apologize to all who showed up - but were not allowed to address the issue. We were told by staff that the SUP would be addressed- as the purpose of a SUP was to permit land uses when the county did not have a dedicated policy. The agri tourism policy draft will have a public hearing on Aug. 29th at 5:15 with planning and zoning. As written it would restrict or not allow most common agritourism experiences in our county. Sad!"

Still, the question remains..."WHY? Why is it such a problem??"