Benton County approves three land-use changes for homes, a dog-grooming business and a shed/barn project

Benton County supervisors approved three separate land-use requests Wednesday that will allow residential and small-business uses on rural parcels across the county.

A 5.47-acre parcel owned by Mark and Kimberly (near Mount Auburn) was approved for a shed and future "barndominium." County staff said the parcel carries a high corn-stability rating but has not been used for agriculture since the 1930s; Secondary Roads reviewed and approved access. No public comments were received and supervisors voted to approve the change.

In a second request, Jordan and JA Arthur received approval to convert about 1 acre near Atkins for a dog-grooming business. County staff advised that waste from dog grooming is not classified as "domestic waste" for county permitting and may fall under Iowa Department of Natural Resources jurisdiction; if the business produces domestic wastewater (restrooms etc.) a septic permit would be required. The board noted that 12 adjacent property owners were notified and that no public comments had been filed before approving the request.

A third request from an applicant listed as "Fin" sought a land-use change to allow a single-family dwelling on roughly 2.5 acres northwest of Shellsburg. Staff said the parcel is not high-quality farmland, is buffered by roadway, creek and grassland and that driveway access was already flagged by Secondary Roads. Supervisors moved and adopted the item.

Meeting materials and staff comments repeatedly framed these approvals as consistent with the Benton County Land Preservation and Use Plan, which allows limited low-density development in general rural-use areas after fair evaluation. The board recorded votes on each item and instructed county staff to issue the compliance/certification letters and proceed with standard permitting processes for wells, septic systems and driveway installation where required.