Lincoln County and Sioux Falls planning panels approve conditional use permit for oversized accessory building

At a joint meeting, the Lincoln County Planning Commission and the City of Sioux Falls Planning Commission voted to approve a conditional use permit allowing a 760-square-foot addition to an already oversized accessory building on a property about a half-mile east of Sioux Falls' corporate limits.

Toby Brown, representing the county planning and zoning department, told commissioners the subject property is zoned A-1 agricultural and is developed with a single-family dwelling and three accessory buildings. Brown said one accessory building measures about 3,744 square feet and two others total roughly 4,032 square feet. He said the proposed 760-square-foot addition triggers the requirement for a conditional use permit because accessory buildings over 1,200 square feet require a CUP in this zoning area. Brown said staff posted the property, received no public calls or comments, and recommended approval "with the seven conditions that were listed in the staff report."

The applicant spoke in support of the request, describing the use as personal storage: "The reason I'm asking to build on is cuz I have a collection of tractors, little tiny tractors. I've got growing and I need a little bit more room to display them. That's all," the applicant said.

On the county side, Commissioner Scott moved to approve the CUP and Boots seconded. A roll call was read: Commissioner Moser voted yes; Sweetser voted yes; Boots voted yes; Scott voted yes; Schmidt initially recorded a "pass," and Jungling voted yes. After the vote, Schmidt stated he had meant to vote yes and changed his recorded vote from "pass" to yes, confirming county approval. On the city side, Van Nieuwenhuizen moved to approve, Gray seconded, and the city side recorded affirmative votes and passed the motion.

Brown noted the property lies within the Sioux Falls joint zoning area and observed the City of Sioux Falls prefers accessory buildings not exceed the main-floor area of dwellings, but said staff considered the addition minimal in scale relative to existing structures and not likely to change the character of the area. The staff recommendation carried with the condition set listed in the staff packet; the transcript did not enumerate the seven conditions.

With both bodies having approved the request, the commissions closed the item. There were no public objections recorded during the meeting. The meeting then moved to other routine business and was adjourned.