Lincoln County prison opponents lose lawsuit that sought to block construction

Supreme Court rules that only county commissions can enforce county zoning laws

A group of landowners that sued the state to block construction of a prison in Lincoln County lost their appeal to the South Dakota Supreme Court Thursday.

The landowners and NOPE – a group that formed to oppose the prison – contended in their lawsuit that the state’s plan to build a men’s prison on 320 acres did not comply with Lincoln County’s 2009 revised zoning ordinance. That land had been designated as agricultural in Lincoln County’s zoning, and a prison would not have been considered as a permissible use.

In order get a prison there, the landowners argued the state would need to get a conditional use permit or seek a zoning change. Failing to do so, they said, violated their rights to due process.