(Audubon) Building permits for farm buildings in Audubon County were addressed by the Audubon County Board of Supervisors this week.
Supervisor’s Chairman Doug Sorensen says they had a considerable discussion on the topic. “There’s a big discrepancy between Audubon County’s building permit requirements and state statute which gives an exemption for farm buildings. We can have a county ordinance that farm buildings can’t be built within 50 feet of the right of way. It’s been a problem some places with people putting up machine sheds and grain bins that are right next to the road.”
Sorensen says this can cause issues with snow accumulation on the road, shading of the road which leads to ice, and people using the road as a farm yard. “It is not a real big problem, but it is a problem here and there. We would like to avoid it, especially on new buildings. We can have our ordinance that says you can’t build there, but we can’t technically according to state law we’re not sure we can actually require you to get a building permit for you to build within ‘X’ distance if it’s a farm building.”
Sorensen suggests anyone interested in putting up a new farm building should consult with the county engineer. “We are trying to figure out exactly what we can do. We want to dissuade people from building too close to the road. If there’s any question, if it’s within 100 feet of the road, you really need to talk to the county engineer and have him weigh in on it, because we would like to avoid those problems.”
