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Brandon panel continues overhaul of zoning definitions, discusses front-yard geometry and residential categories
Summary
Commissioners spent most of the meeting recalibrating key zoning definitions — lot, front yard and dwelling types — debating a 45-degree rule for angled buildings and consolidating redundant residential-use terms to reduce ambiguity for builders and staff.
The Brandon commission continued a multi-session review of proposed zoning-code revisions, focusing on definitions for lots, yards and residential dwelling categories, and how those definitions affect setbacks and development review. Speaker 3 opened the item with a summary of proposed edits to pages 22–33 of the draft code and said the group should prioritize clarifying 'lot' and yard language to reduce interpretive ambiguity.
The discussion centered on several concrete clarifications. Commissioners debated aligning the code's use of 'lot' with the City of Sioux Falls’ definition to keep consistency for builders who work across jurisdictions. Speaker 4 proposed clarifying front-yard geometry for buildings set at angles and suggested a 45-degree threshold to determine whether an angled wall should count toward the front yard. Speaker 3 said incorporating a 45-degree clarification into the front-yard definition would resolve many sketch-based ambiguities.
Members also considered removing overlapping residential terms. Speaker 3 proposed eliminating the separate "dwelling attached" definition in favor of a single technical term, "single-family attached," that would cover duplexes, twin homes and townhouses; he said removing the qualifier "vertical" would allow stacked units (above/below configurations) to be treated consistently. "I will make a note then. We'll get rid of the dwelling attached in favor of the single family attached dwelling," Speaker 3 said during the discussion.
Commissioners debated whether to include illustrative images (townhouse, twin home, duplex) to help the public interpret the code while preserving a concise technical term for the ordinance. They also raised recurrent edge cases — flagpole lots, multiple-frontage lots, and where accessory structures (for example pergolas or decks) cross the threshold to become a building — and directed staff to draft clear thresholds and examples.
The commission did not adopt final text at this meeting; members agreed to continue the detailed review in future meetings and to return with revised language and graphics for the sections discussed. The R1B residential-district topic will remain on the agenda at a future meeting for further deliberation.
