ZONING

In Hand County, the Assessor is tasked with the duties related to ZONING.  Most functions of zoning are conducted in the assessor’s office which is located on the 2nd floor of the courthouse.

The auditor, as clerk for the county commission, also plays a roll in zoning as it relates to appearances before the Hand County Commission when they convene as the Hand County Board of Adjustment or Hand County Zoning Board.  The terms are used synonymously in Hand County.  The county auditor is also on the second floor of the courthouse.

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This document contains an example of the building permit information and the costs as of April 2020.  The actual permits and pricing of permits is what is determined by the zoning official at the time of application.

Building permits are to be requested by calling the Assessor’s office at 605-853-2115 during courthouse hours.

September 4, 2019

From Terry Augspurger, Zoning Official.

“The Hand County Commissioners will meet as the Hand County Zoning Board to continue the conditional use hearing meeting of August 6, 2019 for the purposed hog production facility by Ratio, LLC in the NE & NW 1/4s section 32 – 111-67 (Pearl Township). The meeting will be held at the Hand County Courthouse on Tuesday, September 24, 2019 at 10:30 a.m.”
If you have questions in advance of the meeting, please call the office during business hours, 8-5, M-F. 605-853-2115
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* An agenda for this meeting will be posted on or about September 19th.  Should you want to present and provide your data / handouts ahead of time, please provide them to the auditor’s office prior to September 18th (preferably before noon).

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On September 3rd, 2019 (at about 10:35) the commissioners will have a “work period” in which they work amongst themselves on pending issues. One topic will be two fold and about zoning. The public is more then welcome to listen to their discussion. The two topics will be the adoption of the Wind Energy Ordinance. The ordinance became law without referendum. The second will be about the proposed swine production facility. The length and format of this discussion rests solely on the commission’s needs for time and content.

On September 24, 2019 at 10 A.M. the commission will hold a statutorily required meeting for a public hearing on the county’s 2020 provisional budget. Again, the public is invited so they may be heard and offer comment.

Following the budget hearing, the zoning board will hold the continuation / conclusion of the August 6th public hearing regarding the conditional use permit for the Pipestone swine production facility. The two hearings are currently planned to take place in the commission chambers. If there is sufficient reason to believe the chambers is not large enough, the board reserves the right to move either of the meetings to the courtroom.

This information is being provided to avoid any misconceptions about when the board(s) will make a decision on the provisional budget for the county and the conditional use permit for the swine operation.

The published notice of meeting in the Miller Press will be the formal and official notice of the hearing and will supersede the contents of this message so please look to the Miller Press for the official notice. The first publication is currently scheduled for September 4.

Thank you in advance.

ddb