Hughes County resident has new idea for development

PIERRE — Having pinpointed what he believes is a real housing want in the community, Don Sandberg, a Pierre home builder for 10 years, is now working to bring it to the home owners and horse lovers in the community.  

On Monday, Sandberg will go before the Hughes County Commission for the first reading on his proposal to rezone some 70 acres eight miles east of Pierre on the north side of U.S. Highway 14/83 for a housing development catering to home and horse owners.

The development will consist of homes and barns sitting on 10 acres of land, which gives horse owners enough land to live and keep a horse on, Sandberg said.  

“It’s just a different approach,” he said. “There is nothing like this here.”

As land in the county is zoned for agriculture, parcels of at least 40 acres are typically sold. People who would like to downsize a parcel for residential use only, for example, must rezone the land through approval by the county commission.

The unnamed development would allow land buyers to bypass the rezoning process and focus on building their home and barn. 

Sandberg said he has discussed the development with Oahe Electric and Mid-Dakota Rural Water.

If the proposal receives first reading, the final reading would likely be Aug. 18, according to Mel Placek, Hughes County director of planning and zoning. 

The county has been committed to not rezoning small chunks of land from ag land as part of its comprehensive plan, said Placek.

“As soon as we start carving out two-, three-, four-, five-acre pieces for houses, it starts making it more difficult for the ag industry to operate effectively,” he said. “We will look at what the impact will be on surrounding ag properties if we permit turning this parcel into a residential-use.”

The county could benefit from the property tax the development would generate, Placek said.

“If the property is developed as residential lots, they would likely increase the tax base above what the property draws as ag land,” he said.