When a death occurs on a Dakota county highway, the county allows a memorial to be placed by the right-of-way line near the death location for up to six months. The memorial shall be small in size and placed in a location that is acceptable to adjacent property owners. A memorial will not be allowed if it may negatively affect safety, traffic flow, or interferes with routine maintenance such as mowing.
Memorials placed longer than six months require a county permit
A memorial marker may be placed longer than six months with an approved County Obstruction Permit. Obstruction permit fees are waived for memorial marker placements.
Markers may not exceed one square foot in size and must be placed flush with the ground. The placement, replacement and maintenance of a memorial marker is the responsibility of the permit holder. The permit request will be reviewed as it relates to safety, parking, bicycle and pedestrian use, maintenance, and other related considerations.
The marker may remain in place until roadway improvements require its removal. At that time, the permit holder will be contacted to recover the marker. If the marker is not removed by the permit holder, the marker will be removed by the county.