Article 12.20 of the 1990 Revised Zoning Ordinance, as added by MC16-183-25 (4/22/2025), does NOT impose a blanket owner-occupancy requirement on ADUs in unincorporated Minnehaha County. The ordinance contemplates a wide range of uses — relative housing, long-term rental, full-time caretaker housing, and short-term rental — none of which presuppose the property owner living on-site. South Dakota imposes no statewide owner-occupancy rule for ADUs. The conditional-use permit process, however, allows the Planning Commission to impose site-specific occupancy conditions on a case-by-case basis.
Owner-occupancy mandates are common in coastal and California ADU regimes but were intentionally NOT written into the Minnehaha County ordinance. The MC16-183-25 amendment was drafted to maximize flexibility for rural and rural-residential property owners — including absentee owners and family trusts. As a conditional use, however, the Planning Commission may impose specific conditions if site facts warrant (for example, septic-system loading concerns, well-water capacity, or parking adequacy). Such conditions are recorded with the CUP and run with the land. Inside Sioux Falls and other incorporated cities, owner-occupancy rules are set by municipal code — this article applies only to the unincorporated county. South Dakota law (SDCL Title 9, Title 11) does not preempt local owner-occupancy ordinances either way, so each jurisdiction sets its own approach. The county's permissive default reflects SD's strong property-rights political baseline and the absence of state mandate.
Violating a specific CUP-imposed occupancy condition is a zoning violation enforceable as a Class 2 misdemeanor under SDCL §11-2-35 (up to 30 days, $500). No general owner-occupancy obligation exists outside of CUP-specific conditions.
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