Variance to county's "one non-farm house per 40 acres" rule is rejected

The Winneshiek County Board of Adjustment has rejected a request from a Winneshiek County rural property owner to be allowed to build more than one non farm house on a 40 acre parcel.

The rule is aimed at preventing excessive development in rural areas of Winneshiek County. Normally a property owner who wants to build more than one non-farmhouse will make a rezoning request to the county's Planning & Zoning Commission. In this case the property owner asked for a variance and brought the request to the Board of Adjustment.

Board of Adjustment members believe they're not supposed to rule on such issues--the Planning and Zoning Commission is. But after a long discussion, the Board of Adjustment denied the request. The move still leaves the possibility of a request being made to the Planning and Zoning Commission.