Codington County approves 2026 zoning services contract; planning office flags data centers, battery storage for future rules
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Summary
The county commission approved a one‑year zoning services contract with a modest annual increase and heard a year‑end planning report showing 113 permits and roughly $19.7 million in construction value; staff said rules for battery generation and data centers are on the horizon.
The Codington County Commission on Jan. 13 approved the 2026 zoning services contract and heard a year‑end report from County Zoning Officer Luke Mueller.
Mueller told commissioners the contract continues the existing agreement with a proposed 3% annual increase, estimated mileage reimbursement at $0.70 and an anticipated cap of 600 hours for the year. Commissioners moved to approve the contract (motion by Commissioner McElhaney; second by Commissioner Gable) and carried the motion by voice vote.
In his year‑end presentation, Mueller said the planning and zoning office issued 113 building permits last year — slightly below trend — and reported approximately $19,700,000 in construction value countywide (Mueller noted that figure excludes unusually large wind‑tower years). He said fee revenues were lower than in the highest‑value years and recommended a modest, targeted update to the county fee schedule to reduce the current shortfall.
Mueller also reviewed long‑term trends in conditional uses and variances, noting an administrative shift that has reduced variance applications since 2015 by reclassifying some matters as conditional uses.
Looking ahead, Mueller said the county is receiving more inquiries about battery energy storage and data‑center projects and urged the commission to begin ordinance work with the planning commission to establish permitting, decommissioning and setback standards. "We want to be proactive, not reactive," Mueller said when describing the need to adapt local rules for those new land uses.
The commission reappointed two citizen representatives to the planning and zoning board — Brenda Hatton and Calvin Mack — and approved the reappointment slate by motion and voice vote.
The most recent procedural step noted by staff is to engage the planning commission for ordinance drafting; no ordinance was introduced or adopted at the Jan. 13 meeting.
Next steps: staff said they will return with proposed language or a planning commission work plan to begin the ordinance process on battery storage and data‑center land uses.