Lincoln County, SD Building Setbacks & Zoning: Structure Height Limits (2026)

Section 154.062(E) sets the A-1 Agricultural District's maximum building height at 35 feet as part of the same density, area, yard, and height table that governs the district's 1-acre minimum lot, 125-foot lot width, and yard setbacks. A footnote to that table carves out a specific, unlimited exception: there shall be no height limit for farm structures or wind energy conversion system, language that lets grain bins, machine sheds, silos, and wind turbines rise above the residential 35-foot ceiling without a variance. Anything outside that exception, including a single-family home, a garage, or another accessory structure not tied to farm production or wind energy, stays capped at 35 feet under the general table.

A structure that needs to exceed the cap without qualifying for the farm or WECS exception has to go through the variance process rather than simply building over the limit, since § 154.062 does not authorize an administrative waiver of the height figure itself. Wind energy conversion systems get a second, independent path into the district as well: § 154.057(A)(2) lists a WECS as a permitted special use in conformance with § 154.241, layering additional siting standards on top of the unlimited height allowance in § 154.062(E).