Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Depth To Width Variance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee grants variance for Sandy Bigg lot split despite depth-to-width ratio exceedance
Summary
The committee approved a variance allowing Sandy Bigg to split a roughly 73-acre tract to create an approximately 6-acre homestead lot that exceeds the county’s 4:1 depth-to-width ratio, after staff presented alternatives and the committee discussed land-use and access implications.
Dunn County’s planning committee on Jan. 15 approved a variance requested by Sandy Bigg of Ridgeland to create a new lot containing an existing residence from a roughly 73-acre tract in the Town of Sheridan. The proposed lot would exceed the county’s depth-to-width standard (4:1) in Chapter 16; the committee voted to grant the variance.
County staff said the existing home, well and septic are located well back from the road and predate the county ordinance, and that the proposed configuration would allow Ms. Bigg to retain ownership of the driveway while preserving the agricultural use of the remaining acreage. Staff presented alternatives that would meet the 4:1 ratio — a larger rectangular parcel that would split the field and two configurations that would preserve more farmland but produce larger lots — and observed that converting the driveway to an access easement would avoid the ratio problem but was not the applicant’s preference.
The committee heard from the applicant’s surveyor, who explained the practical need for a configuration that preserves physical access to the back acreage and noted the applicant’s desire to maintain control of the driveway for current and future family use. After public discussion the committee made and seconded a motion to approve the variance. The chair called the question and the motion passed by voice vote; the committee’s staff will process survey work and required documents for final recording.
