NOTICE REGARDING PUBLIC HEARINGS BEFORE THE WOODBURY COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS FOR ZONING ORDINANCE TEXT AMENDMENTS

NOTICE REGARDING PUBLIC HEARINGS BEFORE THE WOODBURY COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS FOR ZONING ORDINANCE TEXT AMENDMENTS

The Woodbury County Board of Supervisors will conduct public hearings and ordinance readings to consider proposed zoning ordinance text amendments, as summarized below, on Tuesday, October 7, 2025, at 4:42 PM, Tuesday, October 14, 2025, at 4:42 PM, and Tuesday, October 21, 2025, at 4:42 PM, or as soon thereafter as the matter may be heard. Pursuant to Iowa Code Section 331.302, the Board may waive the second and third hearings and readings if deemed appropriate.

These hearings and ordinance readings will take place in the Board of Supervisors’ meeting room, located in the basement of the Woodbury County Courthouse, 620 Douglas Street, Sioux City, Iowa. Interested individuals may attend in person to provide comments.

Copies of the proposed amendments are available for public inspection at the Woodbury County Auditor’s Office, Woodbury County Courthouse, 620 Douglas Street, Sioux City, Iowa during normal business hours of Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM. If adopted, the ordinance will become effective upon publication of this summary or the complete text of the ordinance following final passage by the Board of Supervisors, unless a subsequent effective date is specified in the ordinance.

Written comments may be submitted by mail or email to: Woodbury County Community and Economic Development, 6th Floor, Woodbury County Courthouse, 620 Douglas St., Sioux City, IA 51101, or to Daniel Priestley at dpriestley@woodburycountyiowa.gov. For inquiries, contact Daniel Priestley at 712-279-6609.

All individuals wishing to provide input on these matters are encouraged to attend and participate in the scheduled hearing(s).

SUMMARY OF PROPOSED ZONING ORDINANCE TEXT AMENDMENTS. TITLE: AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE WOODBURY COUNTY ZONING ORDINANCE TO ESTABLISH MAXIMUM DIMENSIONS FOR ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS (ADUs) AND PERMIT ADUs THAT DO NOT COMPLY WITH IOWA CODE 331.301(27)(a)(1) TO ALIGN WITH PRIMARY DWELLINGS IN A COUNTY WITHOUT ADOPTED BUILDING CODES; TO ADD UTILITY‑SCALE SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEMS TO THE PUBLIC NOTIFICATION SUBSECTION AND CORRECT THE REFERENCED SUBSECTION TO TELECOMMUNICATION TOWERS; TO ALIGN TELECOMMUNICATION TOWER APPLICATIONS WITH STATE CODE BY REMOVING COLOCATION REQUIREMENTS; TO CORRECT THE ROAD USE AND REPAIR AGREEMENT REFERENCE IN THE UTILITY‑SCALE SOLAR SECTION; AND OTHER CHANGES AS NECESSARY NOT LIMITED TO THE RECLASSIFICATION OF PAGE NUMBERS, SECTIONS, AND OTHER CONTENT LOCATIONS IN THE ZONING ORDINANCE.  The proposed amendments aim to set size limits for ADUs and align their building requirements with primary dwellings, update public notification references for utility-scale solar energy systems, correct references for telecommunication towers, align tower applications with state regulations by removing colocation mandates, and update the road use and repair agreement reference for utility-scale solar energy systems.

The Woodbury County Board of Supervisors will consider amendments to the zoning ordinance to:

1. Establish maximum dimensions for Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) and for the purposes of the subsection in the ordinance, ADUs shall not be required to comply with the building requirements as defined in Iowa Code Chapter 103A.
2. Include utility-scale solar energy systems in the public notification subsection and correct the referenced subsection for telecommunication towers.
3. Align telecommunication tower applications with state code by removing colocation requirements.
4. Correct the road use and repair agreement reference in the utility-scale solar energy systems section.
5. Other changes as necessary not limited to the reclassification of page numbers, sections, and other content locations in the zoning ordinance.

This description is a summary of the proposed ordinance amendments. The full text of the proposed amendments does not impose any new fines, penalties, forfeitures, fees, or taxes beyond those already in the existing zoning ordinance.