Grant County board narrows 75‑foot ditch easement to 60 feet for single building with hold‑harmless agreement

The Grant County Drainage Board voted Feb. 28 to allow a one‑time reduction of a 75‑foot ditch easement to 60 feet for the footprint of a single building on a property adjacent to Psalms Ditch, with a required hold‑harmless agreement to protect the county’s future access.

A resident identified in the record as Speaker 7 told the board the planned carport or garage at 477 (or 4720) East 207 South might fall inside the 75‑foot setback and said the septic tank constrained the placement (Speaker 7, SEG 183–191). The resident asked whether the board could grant a narrower setback so the structure could be built without moving the septic.

Board members and staff reported onsite measurements. Speaker 6 said he placed flags at roughly 60 and 75 feet and recorded a 73‑foot measurement from the top edge of the bank to the corner of the house (Speaker 6, SEG 215–224, SEG 216–219). Members debated whether setbacks should be measured from the center of the ditch or the top edge of the bank; Speaker 6 stated the board uses the top edge of the bank for measurement (SEG 434–446).

Several board members stressed limiting any exception to the building footprint. Speaker 3 and others said they did not want to set a precedent that would reduce the easement across the whole property and emphasized giving “no more right away than they need” (Speaker 3, SEG 281–286, SEG 331–337).

Speaker 5 moved to reduce the easement to 60 feet only in the area where the building would be placed and to require a hold‑harmless (no‑harm) agreement signed by the property owner; Speaker 3 seconded (Speaker 5, SEG 502–511; Speaker 3, SEG 577–579). The board voted in favor and the motion carried (SEG 598–602). Speaker 2 said staff would prepare the hold‑harmless document for the property owner to sign and return for final approval (SEG 603–611).

What the board approved is a site‑specific reduction limited to the building footprint; the remainder of the 75‑foot easement around the property remains in place. The board also recorded that if future ditch work requires relocating the structure, the county retained the right to require removal or relocation under the hold‑harmless terms.

Next steps: county staff will draft the hold‑harmless agreement and work with the property owner to finalize the location and paperwork for the reduced easement. The board did not change its general 75‑foot setback policy for other properties.