Board Waives Immediate Sidewalk Requirement for Southeast Contractor Shop
- Steve Jurrens
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
Northeast Radio SD News – Watertown, SD - The Watertown Board of Adjustment has voted to remove an immediate sidewalk installation requirement for a new development in the city’s southeast industrial corridor, siding with a local developer who reasoned the infrastructure would effectively lead to nowhere.
On March 19, 2026, the Board unanimously approved a request from Jesse Kiihl of Kampeska Builders, LLC, to amend a conditional use permit for the property located at 1408 14th Avenue SE. The decision allows Kiihl to move forward with a 60-by-120-foot steel building intended for a contractor shop and storage yard without building a sidewalk that would remain isolated from the rest of the city’s pedestrian network.
The property’s use was originally approved in April 2025 with the stipulation that a sidewalk be installed along the west property line. However, Kiihl returned to the Board this month, presenting a case that the requirement was a financial burden with no practical benefit.
“I just look at it as a complete waste of money,” Kiihl told the Board during the public hearing. “I’ve been hanging out there for like a year; no one walks around there”.
Kiihl noted that to utilize the sidewalk, a pedestrian would have to navigate through his driveway on the north side, walk south toward the ball diamonds, and then double back, as there are no connecting paths in the immediate vicinity.
Brandi Hanten, Watertown’s Community Development Manager, supported the request for a revised agreement. She noted that only one other property within a quarter-mile radius currently has a sidewalk, and that property was granted a “waiver of right to protest” (WORTP) rather than an immediate installation requirement.
Hanten further pointed out an irony in the current zoning code regarding the C-3 Highway Commercial District:
· Permitted Uses: If Kiihl had proposed a retail store or a “boutique,” he would not have needed Board approval and would have been granted a WORTP through a standard building permit.
· Conditional Uses: Because the “contractor shop” is a conditional use, the Board had originally applied more stringent infrastructure requirements.
“If he would have said he would have had a boutique going in there... he would not have had to come in front of the board for a conditional use,” Hanten explained. “Staff’s typical practice would be to issue a waiver of right to protest... because none of the other areas have sidewalk”.
Board member Todd Kays noted that the primary reason for the original requirement was the proximity to the ball diamonds located to the south. However, given the lack of existing connectivity, the Board agreed that a WORTP was the more appropriate tool.
“I view this as an improvement upon the situation that’s already there,” Kays said while moving to approve the request.
The Board voted unanimously to omit the immediate requirement. In its place, the developer will enter into a WORTP for both the west and north frontages, legally binding current and future owners to install sidewalks once the city determines the surrounding neighborhood is ready for a connected pedestrian system.