The Dallas County Supervisors have been discussing amendments to the County’s zoning ordinance over the last several weeks, and the changes are now officially in place.

Department of Planning and Development Director Murray McConnell presented the amendments at a pair of public hearings, pointing out that they include some important changes to the language in the ordinance. The first alteration was to change the term “main building” to “residential dwelling” when referring to the allowed structures in residential lots. McConnell felt the original wording was too vague and open to interpretation, whereas the new language makes it clear that only one dwelling is allowed per lot. Under the provisions of the ordinance, buildings classified as residential dwellings include: typical single-family homes; an elder family or group home; factory-built homes; family homes; manufactured homes; mobile homes; modular homes; nursing homes; or any other building being used or to be used as a permanent residence.

The other amendment to the zoning ordinance was regarding wind turbine setback requirements. Under the new rules, the turbines are required to have a minimum setback of 2,640 feet from all public structures and private property lines, unless an appropriate easement is secured from all adjoining property owners. There were also small alterations made to rules regarding how close turbines can be placed to public right-of-ways, electrical and communication lines, and environmentally sensitive areas. There are currently only three wind turbines in Dallas County – all near Perry – but the County anticipates that more could be on the way soon with wind energy becoming more common. As such, the Supervisors wanted to ensure the ordinances governing the turbines was up to date.

There were no objections from the public at either of the hearings, so the Board approved the amendments at their most recent meeting. For more information on the Dallas County zoning ordinance, click the link below to visit the County’s website.

https://www.dallascountyiowa.gov/government/business-and-planning/planning-and-development/zoning