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Council hears first reading for rezoning at 1809 West Twentieth Street South; planning commission split on recommendation
Summary
A property just outside Brookings city limits is proposed to be rezoned from agricultural to R-1 single-family; staff noted floodplain location and planning commission voted 5–3 not to recommend approval.
The City Council received the first reading on Ordinance 25-013, a rezoning request for a roughly 1-acre parcel identified as the east acre of Rudebusch Addition (also referenced as 1809 West Twentieth Street South) in the city's joint jurisdiction area. The request would change the property's zoning from joint-jurisdiction agricultural to R-1 single-family residential.
Mike Strzok, community development staff, told the council the parcel lies approximately a quarter mile west of the city limits and is in a floodplain. "It is identified on our future land use map as open space primarily related to the presence of the floodplain," he said, and added that any development would have to comply with floodplain development standards.
Strzok said the lot is nonconforming because a prior residential structure was removed. He said the development-review team opposed the rezoning, citing concerns about rezoning an isolated small ag lot inside a larger agricultural area and the county's 35-acre minimum for building eligibility in ag zoning. "They did not support the request, primarily because there was concerns about the rezone, not only in the flood plain, but rezoning an isolated small ag lot in a much larger area," he said. The planning commission voted 5–3 not to recommend approval.
Thomas Chandler, speaking as a prospective buyer representative, said the applicant would follow floodplain standards and that the property is unique and small compared with larger agricultural parcels. "Rezoning to allow single-family residents would substantially increase its tax contribution," Chandler said, and he said the site relies on a septic system appropriate for a high water table.
Council members asked whether the previous residence had been grandfathered and how the city can avoid setting a precedent for parcel-by-parcel rezones. Strzok said the prior house predated zoning, but removal of the structure ended the building eligibility; he also noted that the county's ag district has a 35-acre minimum for building eligibility and that subdivision and rezoning remain procedural possibilities for property owners.
No final vote was taken on the ordinance; the second reading was scheduled for the July 8 council meeting.
Ending: The council advanced the matter as a first reading and scheduled a second reading and public hearing for July 8.
