County Board tables proposed change to zoning ordinance

A proposed change to McLeod County’s zoning ordinance is headed to a County Board workshop.
At its June 5 meeting, the McLeod County Board of Commissioners tabled a request by the county planning zoning commission to make a change to the ordinance in regard to allowing a second home on agricultural residential property to accommodate an ill or elderly family member who needed care.
The current ordinance states that a conditional use permit could be applied for by a family to construct a temporary, modular home for a family member who needs care. However, a couple recently asked if they could obtain a permit to construct a second home for a friend who needs care, although that friend is not technically a member of the family. The planning commission then proposed amending the ordinance to read a family member or a friend of the family.
Commissioner Ron Shimanski asked if that was too broad of a definition, and whether lines could become blurred when it came to defining a “friend.”
For more about the issue, see the June 13 print edition of The Chronicle.