Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Hill City, South Dakota

Hill City’s own rules

• Building permitRequired

  Construction inside Hill City city limits

  • Permit issued by the city building official; must be completed within one year, with one extension up to 180 days.
  • Exempt (IRC R105.2 as amended): one-story detached accessory structures not over 200 sq ft, fences not over 7 ft, retaining walls not over 4 ft, sidewalks and driveways, decks not over 200 sq ft and 30 inches above grade not attached to a dwelling, and other listed minor work.
  • Starting work without a permit incurs three times the fee, minimum $100.

  exempt accessory structure floor area: <= 200 sq ft (one story detached)

  “permits shall not be required for the following: 1. one story detached accessory structures, provided that the floor area does not exceed 200 square feet. 2. fences not over 7' high.”

• Building code adoptedAdopted

  Buildings and structures inside Hill City city limits

  • Adopts 2021 IBC, IRC (with appendices AE manufactured housing, AQ tiny houses, AW 3D printed construction), IEBC, IFC and IPMC, with local amendments.
  • Local amendments include: no residential fire sprinkler requirement in one- and two-family dwellings; planning & zoning commission serves as board of appeals.
  • Ordinance does not apply to HUD-code mobile or manufactured homes.

  IBC edition: 2021

  “the code shall be the certain building code which is known as the international building code (ibc), 2021 edition as published by the international code council”

• InspectionsRequired

  Permitted construction inside Hill City city limits

  • Inspections enforced under IBC 2021 section 110 and Title 9; fire inspections done in conjunction with building inspections.

  “inspections shall be enforced under ibc 2021, section 110 and title 9 of the hill city ordinances.”

• Local zoningPresent

  Land inside Hill City city limits

  • Hill City's municipal code Title Nine covers zoning and subdivision; the online code is a convenience copy and the city says later ordinances may supersede it.

  “title nine: zoning & subdivision regulations chapter 9.01 - administration chapter 9.02 - definitions chapter 9.03 - use districts”

• Zoning districtsPublished

  Zoning districts inside Hill City city limits

  • Districts include agricultural (A), residential (R), commercial/central business and factory/industrial (FI) zones, each with divisions.

  “table 402.1 agricultural (a) zone bulk regulations (in feet, unless noted otherwise)”

• Minimum lot sizeDistrict specific (with conditions)

  Agricultural (A) zone, divisions 1-3, inside Hill City city limits

  • Division 1: 20 acres; division 2: 10 acres; division 3: 5 acres.
  • Zoning code version dated June 2024.

  minimum lot area: 20 / 10 / 5 acres (divisions 1 / 2 / 3)

  “1 20 1 dwelling unit/20 acres 600 600 30 15 60 35 2 10 1 dwelling unit/10 acres 400 400 30 15 60 35”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • District specific (with conditions) — Residential (R) zone, divisions 1-4, inside Hill City city limits

    “1a 5,000 1 50 100 25 25 25 35 1a 35,000 1 125 150 25 25 25 35”

• SetbacksDistrict specific (with conditions)

  Residential (R) zone inside Hill City city limits (front 25 ft, rear 25 ft, side 25/10/5 ft by division)

  • Agricultural (A) zone: front 30 ft, side 15 ft, rear 60 ft (see minimum lot size agricultural claim).
  • Townhome/twinhome attached dwellings may have 0 ft setback where attached.

  R front/rear yard: >= 25 feet · A front yard: >= 30 feet

  “all residential zones require a minimum of a 25' front and 25' rear yard setback.”

• Building heightDistrict specific (with conditions)

  Residential (R) and Agricultural (A) zones inside Hill City city limits

  • Maximum building height is 35 feet in the R and A zones per the bulk tables; accessory structures, windmills and similar may exceed when approved by the legislative body in A zone.

  maximum building height: <= 35 feet (A-zone accessory structures may exceed if approved)

  “access storage structures, windmills and similar structures shall be permitted to exceed the maximum height when approved by the legislative body”

• Accessory dwellingsLimited

  Accessory dwelling units in the residential (R) zone inside Hill City city limits

  • ADUs are subject to design standards, including complementary architecture to the principal dwelling.
  • Other ADU standards in section 502/503 (size, owner occupancy, separation) were not fully captured.

  “accessory dwelling units must maintain common city owned utility services with the principal residential structure.”

• Off-grid sanitationLimited

  Private sewage disposal inside Hill City city limits

  • Septic permitted only if the public sewer is more than 200 feet from the lot line and the system complies with SDCL 34A-2-108.
  • Where a sewer main is within 200 feet, connection is required.

  sewer distance for septic allowance: > 200 feet

  “construction or use of privies, septic tanks and other facilities for the disposal of sewage shall be prohibited within hill city except if the public sewer system is more than 200 feet from the lot line of property owners, said owner may utilize a septic system provided said system complies with sdcl 34a-2108”

• Mandatory utility hookupWater and sewer (with conditions)

  Property inside Hill City city limits

  • Applies when municipal water and sewer mains are within 200 feet.
  • Annexed property must connect as soon as structures are located on it (water) or added (sewer).
  • All installations must meet state plumbing inspector approval and state plumbing regulations.

  connection distance to main: <= 200 feet

  “all property within the city limits and within 200 feet of the municipal water and sewer mains shall be connected to the municipal water and sewer system.”

• Subdividing landRegulated (with conditions)

  Land subdivision inside Hill City city limits

  • Chapter 9.14 text not read; only its existence is confirmed.

  “chapter 9.13 - planned unit development chapter 9.14 - subdivision regulations title ten: offenses”

• Permit feesPublished

  Building permits inside Hill City city limits

  • Value computed at $114/sq ft above grade and $32/sq ft for unfinished basements and garages (residential), $200/sq ft commercial.
  • $25 fee to move a mobile home in or out of the city.
  • Work begun without a permit costs three times the fee, minimum $100.

  fee above $100,000 value: per 7 USD per $1,000 ($6.50 per $1,000 up to $100,000)

  “for the first $500.00 there is no fee; basic fee is $50.00 for $501.00 plus $6.50 for each $1,000.00 of value or portion thereof up to $100,000.00 and $7.00 for each $1,000.00 of value”

• Permit processPublished

  Building permit applications inside Hill City city limits

  • If submitted to the planning and zoning commission, applications are due by noon the Wednesday before its meetings (generally first and third Monday).
  • A denied application may be referred to the city council.

  “if said application is further submitted to the planning and zoning commission, said application shall be submitted before 12:00 noon on the wednesday before the planning and zoning commission meetings which are generally the first and third monday of each month.”

Still unanswered

We looked and could not find an official answer yet. Silence is not permission; ask Hill City or Pennington County directly.

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder permit exemption inside Hill City city limits
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificate of occupancy inside Hill City city limits
• Minimum dwelling size — Minimum dwelling size inside Hill City city limits
• Lot coverage — Lot coverage inside Hill City city limits
• Living in an RV — RV occupancy inside Hill City city limits

Each answer was extracted from an official source and independently re-checked against that source by a second reviewer. That is an evidence check, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the authority before you buy or build.