Loudon County staff propose restoring single-family and manufactured homes in rural center zoning; three rezones slated for voting

At a March 17, 2025 Loudon County Commission workshop, staff presented a resolution to amend the county zoning resolution's Article 5, section 5.46 C1 (rural center district) to restore allowances for single-family dwellings, manufactured/mobile homes and prefabricated dwellings in small pockets of C1 zoning and to reinstate prior setback and minimum-lot-size standards.

The change matters because staff said several small, older C1 parcels across the county now carry development rules that prevent rebuilding after a loss, which can leave homeowners unable to secure loans or insurance. "One of the biggest changes were that, seems like in the C1, you might have been able to go down to about a 15,000 square foot lot size if you were subdivided," Presenter Jim Dakins said, describing why the amendment would return a one-acre minimum in many cases and restore setbacks that existed prior to the Article 5 rewrite.

Dakins told commissioners the 2024 Article 5 rewrite removed a provision that had allowed single-family and duplex units in some C1 pockets. He said the county has found multiple small clusters—particularly in the First, Third and Fourth legislative districts—where existing single-family homes now sit on parcels that are substandard under the new zoning language. Under the proposed amendment, those limited pockets would again allow single-family and certain manufactured or prefabricated dwellings and would carry setback and minimum-lot-size rules intended to make replacement possible and to restore lenders' willingness to finance.

Staff also reviewed three related rezoning applications on the county's zoning map. Item B would rezone Tax Map 051, Parcel 4609 (28374 Highway 95) from A-2 (rural residential) to A-3 (developing agricultural) to create two approximately 1-acre lots; Dakins said the planning commission recommended approval and that the applicant had described an intent to create two 1-acre lots. Item C would rezone Tax Map 19, Parcel 120 (13118 Hotchkiss Valley East) from A-1 (agricultural/forestry) to A-3 to create an approximately 1-acre buildable lot; staff noted an error in the parcel identification on that application and said the item will return to planning for correction and will appear on April agendas.

Several residents asked procedural and textual questions about the Article 5 amendment during the meeting's public-comment period. Pat Hunter, who identified herself as a voter and taxpayer, asked specifically for the current and proposed verbiage and whether the amendment was connected to road standards under review by county planning. "I would like the current and the proposed verbiage, and also I'd like to know if this has to do with the road standards that these have been under review by the county commission and or the planning commission for several months now," Hunter said.

Dakins and other staff said they expect the ordinance amendment and the related map rezones to appear on the commission's April 7 voting meeting agenda for final action. No formal vote was recorded at the March 17 workshop.

Background: Dakota County staff said the earlier Article 5 rewrite shortened minimum lot sizes in some cases to roughly 15,000 square feet for subdivided lots; the proposed amendment would generally restore a one-acre minimum for these rural C1 pockets to align with adjacent A-3 zoning practice. The amendment is intended to preserve the ability of homeowners to replace structures and to retain the existing residential use of these small, older C1 parcels.

Looking ahead, staff and commissioners said they will return corrected rezoning paperwork to planning as needed and present final language and a vote at the April meeting.