Clay County Board of Zoning Adjustment approves variance to allow separate electric meter for accessory dwelling unit

The Clay County Board of Zoning Adjustment on June 24 approved a variance, case number 25-104BZA, allowing an accessory dwelling unit on a roughly 38-acre agricultural parcel to have a separate electric meter after the property’s electric provider said extending the existing service would violate its standards. The board voted 3-0 to approve the variance.

The variance matters because the county’s Land Development Code (LDC) currently requires an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) to share utilities and an address with the primary residence; staff told the board the code language has been in place since the 2003 LDC and was not changed in a March 2022 revision. Planning staff said a letter from Platt Clay Electric attached to the staff report indicated the cooperative would not allow a main-line extension to serve the proposed new house and asked that the new dwelling have a separate meter.

Kip Jones, planning staff, summarized the code constraint: “It currently states that you cannot have separate utilities. So all the utilities have to be connected to the main house.” Applicant Chris Weston told the board the second meter is being requested for technical efficiency, not to create a separate lot: “This second meter ... it's just what's needed to be efficient.” Builder Dave Holland described technical concerns at the site, saying the distance from the existing transformer to the new house and barn would cause equipment strain: “every time you turn on a light in the barn, it's going to affect the little house or the new house. Lights are gonna dim.”

Staff’s presentation said the parcel is about 38 acres, zoned agricultural, with access from Baxter Road. The existing small farmhouse would be converted to an ADU used by the applicant’s mother; the applicant said the farmhouse is about 850 square feet and intended as a one-bedroom unit. The applicants said they began work on the new house after the ADU was deemed to meet criteria and broke ground in October 2024; construction has been delayed pending resolution of the electrical service question. The applicants also said their water service comes from Ray County and that they previously sought and later obtained approval from that board to retain a single water meter before the electric issue arose.

The record shows standard public-notice steps: a sign posted on-site, publication in the newspaper and 27 mailed notices to property owners within 2,000 feet; staff said those notices produced inquiries but no letters of opposition. During discussion, a commissioner asked whether allowing separate meters could functionally enable dividing a lot; Jones said isolated exceptions with a documented technical need would not by themselves justify parcel splitting. Commissioner Joanne Lawson made the motion to approve 25-104BZA; the motion was seconded and passed on a roll call vote with Lawson, John Carpenter and Chair Scott Wagner voting yes.

The board announced there will be no July meeting and adjourned. The variance approval allows the applicant to pursue separate electric service consistent with the cooperative’s standards; any meter installation remains subject to the electric provider’s requirements and any necessary permits.