Board of Adjustment approves variance to reduce rear-yard setback for accessory building at long-established homestead

The Winona County Board of Adjustment approved a variance for docket BOA1162501 allowing a proposed accessory building to be sited 20 feet from the rear property line where the zoning ordinance requires a 50-foot rear-yard setback.

Aaron Locker, a planner with Winona County Planning & Environmental Services, told the board the applicant proposes a 150-by-50-foot accessory building that would replace a smaller outbuilding and contain a temporary residential accessory unit. Locker said the parcel is a long-established homestead of about 4.25 acres and that the proposed building footprint closely follows the placement of legacy farm buildings. He also noted steep grades and an old silage bunker near the proposed location that constrain alternative siting.

Applicant Nels Ebbison described living on the parcel for 33 years and told the board the structure would “look like an agricultural building” while containing a single-floor dwelling inside the outer shell. Ebbison said the dwelling is intended for elder parents; when the need for the residence ends, the county’s permitting would require the space to revert to nonresidential use.

Board members asked whether the parcel met the ordinance definition of an agricultural property; Locker replied that the parcel is zoned Agricultural Resource Conservation but is primarily residential in use and therefore does not qualify for agricultural-building setback exceptions under the ordinance. Board members also questioned septic and well connections; Ebbison said the accessory building would tap the existing well and that a septic area had been identified south of the proposed building.

After public hearing and no speakers from the public, Ed moved to approve the variance including the findings of fact and the conditions drafted by the county attorney’s office; Kelsey Fitzgerald seconded the motion. The chair called for ayes and the motion carried. The board notified attendees of the 30-day right to appeal the decision to district court under the county procedures.

The approved conditions as provided in the packet include that the temporary residential use is authorized only for the duration stated in the planning approvals and that occupants be put on notice that the property is in an agricultural area and may experience typical agricultural operations.