The Martin County Planning Commission and Board of Adjustment will hold a public hearing on March 24, 2026, at 5:30 p.m. The meeting is scheduled to take place in the Martin County Commissioners Room on the first floor of the Courthouse at 201 Lake Avenue in Fairmont, Minnesota.
Two items are listed for discussion during the hearing. The first is a conditional use permit request from Caleb Benes concerning property in Section 21 of Fairmont Township. Benes plans to move his monument business to his existing farmstead, which is located within an “A” Agricultural District. According to the Martin County Zoning Ordinance, a conditional use permit is required for non-agricultural businesses operating on existing farmsteads in these districts.
The second agenda item involves an after-the-fact variance request by Federated Rural Electric Association regarding property in Section 1 of Tenhassen Township. The association constructed a broadband utility shed classified as an accessory building permitted in an “A” Agricultural District. However, this structure encroaches closer than allowed to the minimum required setback from the centerline of a public right-of-way. The county zoning ordinance specifies that new buildings must be set back two hundred feet from any public right-of-way centerline since February 17, 2004, while sites built before that date require a one hundred thirty-foot setback. Existing sites cannot extend closer than their nearest present building if it is more than one hundred thirty feet from the road centerline.
Pamela A. Flitter signed the notice as Director of Martin County Planning and Zoning.
