Lincoln County, SD Accessory Structures: ADU Rules (2026)

Lincoln County Code § 154.248(B), adopted under Ordinance 0904-05 (passed May 20, 2009), is unambiguous: accessory buildings may not be used for dwelling purposes. That single sentence forecloses converting a shed, detached garage, pole barn, or other accessory structure into a second residence, a garage apartment, or a rental cottage anywhere the section applies, the A-1 Agricultural, RR Rural Residential, and R-1 Residential districts. The same division also requires that the main dwelling's construction actually commence before any accessory building is built and that the accessory building not be used unless the main building is also in use, reinforcing that accessory structures exist only to support the primary residence, not to house a separate household.

Section 154.248(A)(4) does permit a home occupation to run out of an accessory building in conformance with § 154.242, so a workshop or home-business space is allowed, but that is a business use, not a dwelling. A property owner who wants a second housing unit, such as a mobile home for a family member, must instead look to § 154.247(E)'s temporary placement allowance during construction of a permanent dwelling, which is time-limited to one year, or pursue the mobile-home and manufactured-home conditional-use path elsewhere in Chapter 154, since neither route creates a permanent accessory dwelling unit in a converted shed or garage. The county's zoning framework treats accessory structures strictly as ancillary space, with no ADU allowance.