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Deuel County board says May H‑D Electric variance lacked required two‑thirds; board rehears then approves sign variance with conditions
Summary
After staff review of Section 505, the Deuel County Board confirmed a May 11 vote on an H‑D Electric sign variance did not meet the two‑thirds (4 of 5) threshold, voted to rehear the request, and then approved a variance allowing a 100‑square‑foot sign located no closer than 25 feet from SD Highway 15, subject to safety and SDDOT conditions.
Vice Chairman Kevin DeBoer recused himself from consideration of an H‑D Electric Cooperative sign variance on June 8, 2026, after the Deuel County Zoning Board reviewed whether a prior May 11 motion had met the voting threshold required by Section 505 of the Deuel County Zoning Ordinance. Zoning Officer Jodi Theisen told the board that an administrative review confirmed an affirmative two‑thirds vote of the full Board (four of five members) is required for a variance. She said the May 11 motion ‘‘received three (3) affirmative votes with one abstention and therefore did not meet the required two‑thirds (2/3) vote of the full membership of the Board of Adjustment … and therefore did not constitute final approval.’’
Following that clarification, the board voted to rehear the H‑D Electric variance request. The rehearing motion (moved by Mike Lammers, seconded by Scott Fieber) passed with four members voting in favor and Vice Chairman DeBoer abstaining because of a conflict of interest.
At the rehearing the board acknowledged email correspondence relayed to staff by Matt Hotzler, General Manager/CEO of H‑D Electric Cooperative, reporting that the South Dakota Department of Transportation (SDDOT) had no objection to the proposed sign location provided the sign is kept outside the highway right‑of‑way and outside applicable sight‑triangle areas. The correspondence also stated that the LED display portion of the sign must include an automatic dimming feature.
The board then approved a variance to allow a maximum sign area of 100 square feet and to permit the sign to be located no closer than 25 feet from the SD Highway 15 right‑of‑way, subject to compliance with clear‑view triangle requirements and SDDOT regulations, including the automatic dimming requirement for the LED display. The motion to approve the variance passed with four votes in favor and DeBoer abstaining for conflict of interest. The board did not record individual yes/no votes in the transcript; the tally was reported as four in favor, one abstention.
The board’s action both corrected the record about the May 11 vote and produced a final decision (subject to the stated conditions) on the sign variance after rehearing. The board did not take an executive session on the matter.
