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Planning panel recommends rezoning to allow one house on La Crescent-adjacent parcel
Summary
Houston County planning commissioners voted to recommend that the County Board rezone a portion of a roughly 20-acre parcel in La Crescent Township from Agricultural Protection to Residential to allow construction of a single-family house; the recommendation limits the rezoned area to one buildable lot unless a plat under section 36 is approved.
The Houston County Planning Commission voted to recommend that the County Board amend the county zoning map to rezone part of a roughly 20-acre parcel near La Crescent from the Agricultural Protection District to the Residential District so the owners, Chris and Wendy Horn, may build a single-family house.
Staff said the owners want to rezone only a small portion of Parcel ID 080125004 and the area noted as Parcel 2 on Parcel ID 080125002, not the entire 20-acre tract. The staff report and survey in the board packet show two existing houses already on the quarter-quarter; applicants said they preferred the closer, serviced location rather than building farther out on the family’s remaining 26 acres.
The commission considered applicable goals in the county comprehensive land use plan and draft findings prepared by staff, which tie the request to policies that encourage locating urban development near cities where services can be provided, protect prime agricultural land by limiting scattered development, and minimize impacts on environmentally sensitive areas. Staff noted shoreland limitations apply along Pine Creek, including a 100-foot setback from the ordinary high water level and an additional 40-foot bluff setback; the surveyor accounted for those features but no precise building location has been formally approved.
Commissioners approved the staff-drafted findings and then moved to recommend the rezoning to the County Board. The recommendation includes a condition that the rezoned area be limited to one buildable lot unless a plat is subsequently approved under section 36 of the Houston County Zoning Ordinance. The planning commission’s recommendation was carried by voice vote and will proceed to the County Board, which provides final approval.
A public hearing on the Horn rezoning will be held at the Houston County Commissioners’ Room in Caledonia at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025. Written comments to the Environmental Services Department or emailed to staff must be received by Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025, to be included for review prior to the hearing. The planning staff said all comments will be part of the public record.
Procedural notes: staff read the legal notice and the parcel survey was included in the board packet. The recommendation limits future development without a separate platting process; final zoning action rests with the Houston County Board.
