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Council approves variances, grants $5,500 utility help for Alcester housing project
Summary
Alcester City Council approved setback variances for two housing projects and authorized $5,500 in water/sewer assistance to the Housing Redevelopment Commission to connect utilities at 304 Iowa Street, a move supporters said will make a modest-income home buildable and meet program income caps.
Alcester City Council on April 6 approved multiple variances and a $5,500 utility-assistance payment intended to support small, income-capped homes in town.
David Larson, a board member involved with the Alcester Village apartments project, asked the commission for a setback variance so two handicap-accessible homes could be placed on a vacant lot at East 1st and Church Street while keeping the front of the houses 30 feet from East 1st Street. "They're gonna be handicap accessible homes," Larson said when describing the 20-by-50 units and the planned driveway alignment. Planning and zoning commissioners examined lot lines and sight distances and recommended approval.
Separately, Jared Greason of the Housing Redevelopment Commission described a request to reduce the front setback to 21 feet so a house and garage arrangement would allow South Dakota Housing to deliver units and preserve an existing garage. Greason told the council the HRC modeled the program on nearby cities and estimated the utility work necessary: "We're asking for 21 feet... our request is because we need to put the house basically in front of the garage," he said. The council voted to approve the variance recommendation.
Council members also approved a $5,500 contribution to connect water and sewer at 304 Iowa Street so a governor-style home could meet income caps and remain affordable. Jared summarized the financing approach, including prior lot purchases and cost-sharing partners, and framed the request as a modest investment to induce construction: "We're not asking for any help with electricity or the gas. We're asking for the water and the sewer. So that would be a total of $5,500," he said. The motion passed on a unanimous voice vote.
The approvals are intended to remove a procedural barrier to imminent construction; project timelines discussed at the meeting estimated site work and digging to begin within weeks. Council members said they supported the projects as a way to increase local housing supply and make previously unused lots buildable.
