For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning. Other words not included in this section shall have the meaning defined in the Minnesota State Statutes. Other words not so defined shall the meaning customarily associated with them.
ACCESSORY BUILDING. A subordinate building or structure on the same lot with a principal or main building.
ACCESSORY USE.A use on the same lot with the principal use or building that is incidental, subordinate and customary to the principal use or building.
AGRICULTURE. The use of land for agricultural purposes, including farming, dairying, pasturage, horticulture, agricultural product storage, animal and poultry husbandry and accessory uses and buildings.
ALTERATIONS. Any modification, additions, or change in construction or type of occupancy; any enlargement of a building, either horizontally or vertically; or the moving of a structure from one location to another.
ANIMALS, DOMESTIC. Fish, dogs, cats, birds, small reptiles and other similar customary household pets.
ANIMALS, FARM. Cattle hogs, horses, sheep, goats, rabbits, chickens and other animals kept primarily for dairy and meat production or the breeding of such animals.
ANIMALS, WILD and EXOTIC. Animals other than domestic and farm animals customarily found in the wild, such as bears, wolves and tigers.
APARTMENT. A room or suite of rooms, including bath and kitchen facilities, in a multiple-family building designed for occupancy by a single family.
APARTMENT, ACCESSORY. An apartment that is secondary and incidental to a principal use or building.
BASEMENT. A portion of a building located partly underground, having more than 50% of its floor-to-ceiling height below the average grade of the adjoining ground. Split level, split entry and earth sheltered homes shall be construed to satisfy basement requirements.
BOARD. The Board of Appeals and Adjustments of the City of Cologne.
BOATHOUSE. Means a structure designed and used solely for the storage of boats or boating equipment.
BUILDING. Any structure having a roof which may provide shelter or enclosure of persons, animals or chattel, and when said structure is divided by party walls without openings, each portion of such building so separated shall be deemed a separate building.
BUILDING HEIGHT. The distance between the average ground level at the building line and the highest point of the roof for flat roof, to the deck line of a mansard roof or to the highest height of a gable on a pitched or hipped roof.
BUILDING LINE. That line measured across the width of the lot at the point where the main structure is placed in accordance with setback provisions.
BUILDING, PRINCIPAL. A building in which is conducted the main or primary use of the lot on which it is located.
CITY COUNCIL. The City Council of the City of Cologne.
CLEARCUTTING. The removal of an entire stand of trees.
CLUSTER HOUSING. The grouping of single-family dwellings within a specified area while maintaining the same overall allowable density in that same area.
COMMISSION. The Planning Commission of the City of Cologne.
COMMISSIONER. Means the commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources.
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN. A compilation of policy statements, goals, standards and maps for guiding the physical, social and economic development of the city and including a land use plan, a community facilities plan and a transportation plan which has been prepared and adopted by the City of Cologne.
DAYCARE FACILITY. A state-licensed daycare facility, as defined in M.S. Chapter 462, as it may be amended from time to time, in a single-family residential district or a state-licensed daycare facility serving no more than 16 persons in a multiple-family residential district.
DECK. A horizontal, unenclosed platform with or without attached railings, seats, trellises, or other features, attached or functionally related to a principal use or site.
DENSITY. The number of dwelling units residing upon, or to be developed upon, a gross acre of land or other specified unit of measurement.
DISTRICT, ZONING. An area of land for which there are uniform regulations governing the use of buildings and premises.
DWELLING. Any building or portion thereof, which is designed or used exclusively for residential purposes but not including rooms in motels, hotels, nursing homes, boarding houses, nor trailers, tents, cabins or trailer coaches.
DWELLING, SINGLE-FAMILY ATTACHED. A dwelling unit, which is attached to another dwelling by one or more common walls, designed for occupancy by one family.
DWELLING, SINGLE-FAMILY DETACHED. A dwelling unit, which is not attached to any other dwelling, designed for occupancy by one family.
ESSENTIAL SERVICES. Public and private utilities required by the resident and working population.
FAMILY. An individual, or two or more persons related by blood, marriage or adoption, or a group of not more than five persons not so related, living together as a single housekeeping unit using common cooking and kitchen facilities.
FLOOR AREA. The sum of the gross horizontal area of the floors of a building or dwelling unit, measured form the exterior walls, or from the centerline of party walls separating buildings, excluding basements.
GARAGE, PRIVATE. Any accessory building or an accessory portion of a principal building designed or used solely for the storage of motor vehicles, boats and other personal belongings which are owned or used by the occupants of the building to which it is accessory.
HARDSHIP. Means the same as that term is defined in M.S. Chapter 462, as it may be amended from time to time.
HOME OCCUPATION. A gainful occupation conducted in a residential building which is clearly secondary and incidental to the principal residential use of the building and generates no appreciable increase in traffic in the district. A home occupation shall be carried on only by the dwelling's occupants. Retail sales and storage of stock shall be limited and incidental to the principal home occupation.
INTENSIVE VEGETATION. The complete removal of trees or shrubs in a contiguous clearing patch, strip, row, or block.
KENNEL. Any lot or premises for the sale, boarding or breeding of dogs, cats or other household pets. KENNEL shall mean three or more animals over six months of age.
LOT. A separate parcel, tract or area of land undivided by any public street or approved private road, which has been established by plat, metes and bounds subdivision, or as otherwise permitted by law, and which is occupied by or intended to be developed for and occupied by a principal building or group of such buildings and accessory buildings, or utilized for a principal use and uses accessory thereto, including such open spaces and yards as are designed and arranged or required by this chapter for such building use or development.
LOT AREA. The area of a horizontal plane bounded by the front, side or rear lot lines, but not including any area occupied by the waters of lakes or rivers or by street right-of-way.
LOT, CORNER. A lot which has at least two contiguous sides abutting upon a street.
LOT LINE. The lines bounding a lot as herein described.
LOT OF RECORD. A lot which is part of a subdivision or plat, an auditor’s subdivision or a registered land survey or a parcel of land not so platted, which has been approved by the city or meets the following conditions:
(1) Was a separate parcel of record April 1, 1945 or the date of adoption of subdivision regulations under Laws 1945, Chapter 287, whichever is later, or of the adoption of subdivision regulations pursuant to a home rule charter;
(2) Was the subject of a written agreement to convey entered into prior to such time;
(3) Was a separate parcel of not less than 2-1/2 acres in area and 150 feet in width on January 1, 1966;
(4) Was a separate parcel of not less than five acres in area and 300 feet in width on July 1, 1980;
(5) Is a single parcel of commercial or industrial land of not less than five acres and having a width of not less than 300 feet and its conveyance does not result in the division of the parcel into two or more lots or parcels, any one of which is less than five acres in area or 300 feet in width;
(6) Is a single parcel of residential or agricultural land of not less than 20 acres and having a width of not less than 500 feet and its conveyance does not result in the division of the parcel into two or more lots or parcels, any one of which is less than 20 acres in area or 500 feet in width.
LOT, THROUGH. A lot where opposite lot lines abut two parallel street and which is not a corner lot.
LOT WIDTH. The width measured along the street frontage or the building setback line.
MANUFACTURED HOME. A structure, transportable in one or more sections, which in the traveling mode, is eight body feet or more in width or 40 body feet or more in length, or when erected on site, is 320 or more square feet, and which is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used as a dwelling with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities, and includes the plumbing, heating, air conditioning, and electrical systems contained therein; except that the term includes any structure which meets all the requirements and with respect to which the manufacturer voluntarily files a certification required by the secretary and complies with the standards established under this chapter.
MINERAL EXTRACTION. The extraction of sand, gravel, rock or other such material from the land.
MOTOR VEHICLE. A self-propelled vehicle for personal or business use as defined in M.S. § 169.01, as it may amended from time to time.
NONCONFORMING USE. A building or use of land which does not conform to the regulations of the district or zone in which it is situated.
OPEN SPACE. Any unoccupied land space open to the sky.
ORDINARY HIGH WATER LINE (OHWL). A line delineating the highest water level which has been maintained for a sufficient period of time to leave evidence on the landscape. The ordinary high water mark is commonly that point where the natural vegetation changes from predominantly aquatic to terrestrial.
PERFORMANCE STANDARD. A criterion established to control appearance, noise, odor, toxic or noxious matter, vibration, fire and explosive hazards, glare, heat, waste and other potential impacts generated by or inherent in uses of land or buildings.
PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT. A process to acquire rezoning and/or variances from chapter requirements which includes the preparation of and a commitment to the implementation of an approved plan.
PLAT. The drawing or map of a subdivision prepared for filing of record pursuant to M.S. Chapter 505, as it may be amended from time to time, and containing all elements and requirements set forth in applicable local regulations adopted pursuant to M.S. § 462.358 and M.S. Chapter 505, as they may be amended from time to time.
PRINCIPAL USE or STRUCTURE. The main use to which the premises are devoted and the principal purpose for which the premises exist.
PRIVATE PROPERTY. Any real property within the city which is privately owned and which is not a public property as defined in this section.
PUBLIC HEARING. An official public meeting for which notice has been published in the official newspaper.
PUBLIC PROPERTY. Any street or highway and includes the entire width between the boundary lines of every way publicly maintained for the purposes of vehicular travel, and shall also mean any other publicly owned property or facility.
QUARTER-QUARTER SECTION. A land area in the aliquot system description of the United States Public Land System consisting of 1/16 of a section (one square mile) of land, or approximately 40 acres in area.
RESIDENTIAL FACILITY. A state licensed residential facility, defined by M.S. Chapter 462, as it may be amended from time to time, serving six or fewer persons, in a single-family residential district and no more than 16 persons in a multiple family residential district.
RIGHT-OF-WAY. A street, alley or easement permanently established for the passage of persons and vehicles including the traveled surface of lands adjacent that are formally dedicated to such usage.
SEMIPUBLIC USE. The use of land by a private, nonprofit organization to provide a public service that is ordinarily open to some persons outside the regular constituency of the organization.
SETBACK. The minimum horizontal distance between a lot line and a building line or use.
SEWAGE TREATMENT SYSTEM. A septic tank and soil absorption system or other individual or cluster type sewage treatment system but only as described and regulated by the city's land use regulations.
SEWER SYSTEM. Pipelines or conduits, pumping stations, and force main, and all other construction devices, appliances, or appurtenances used for conducting sewage or industrial waste or other wastes to a point of ultimate disposal.
SHORE IMPACT ZONE. Land located between the ordinary high water level of a public water and a line parallel to it at a setback of 50% of the structure setback.
SHORELAND. Land located within the following distances from public waters: 1,000 feet from the ordinary high water level of a lake, pond, or flowage; and 300 feet from a river or stream, or the landward extent of a floodplain designated by ordinance on a river or stream, whichever is greater. The limits of shorelands may be reduced whenever the waters involved are bounded by topographic divides which extend landward from the waters for lesser distances and when approved by the commissioner.
SIGNIFICANT HISTORIC SITE. Any archaeological site, standing structure, or other property that meets the criteria for eligibility to the National Register of Historic Places or is listed in the State Register of Historic Sites, or is determined to be an unplatted cemetery that falls under the provisions of M.S. § 307.08, as it may be amended from time to time. An HISTORIC SITE meets these criteria if it is presently listed on either register or if it is determined to meet the qualifications for listing after review by the Minnesota state archaeologist or the director of the Minnesota Historical Society. All unplatted cemeteries are automatically considered to be significant historic sites.
STEEP SLOPE. Land where agricultural activity or development is either not recommended or described as poorly suited due to slope steepness and the site's soil characteristics, as mapped and described in available county soil surveys or other technical reports, unless appropriate design and construction techniques and farming practices are used in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. Where specific information is not available, steep slopes are lands having average slopes over 12%, as measured over horizontal distances of 50 feet or more, that are not bluffs.
STREET. A public thoroughfare which affords the principal means of access to abutting property.
STREET LINE. The legal line of demarcation between a street and abutting land.
STRUCTURE. Anything constructed or erected, the use of which requires a location on the ground, or attached to something having a location on the ground.
SUBDIVISION. The separation of an area, parcel or tract of land under single ownership into two or more parcels, tracts, lots, or long-term leasehold interests where the creation of the leasehold interest, necessitates the creation of street, roads, or alleys, for residential, commercial, industrial, or other use or any combination thereof, except those separations:
(1) Where all the resulting parcels, tracts, lots, or interests will be twenty acres or larger in size and 500 feet in width for residential uses and five acres or larger in size for commercial and industrial uses;
(2) Creating cemetery lots; and
(3) Resulting from court orders, or the adjustment of a lot line by the relocation of a common boundary.
USE. The purpose or activity for which the land or building thereon is designed, arranged, or intended, or for which it is occupied of maintained and shall include any manner of performance of such activity with respect to the performance standards of this chapter.
USE, PERMITTED. A use that is permitted in the district under which it is listed.
VEHICLE. Any vehicle which is self-propelled or designed to be pushed or pulled and shall include, but not be limited to , automobiles, buses, motorbikes, motorcycles, motor scooters, trucks, tractors, go-carts, golf carts, campers, trailers, boats, planes and gliders.
VEHICLE, ABANDONED. Any vehicle as defined in this section, which does not have lawfully affixed or attached thereto an unexpired state registration or license plate or plates, or the condition of which is wrecked, dismantled, partially dismantled, inoperative, abandoned or discarded.
WATER-ORIENTED. A small, above-ground building or other improvement, except accessory structure stairways, fences, docks, and retaining walls, which, because of the or facility relationship of its use to a surface water feature, reasonably needs to be located closer to public waters than the normal structure setback. Examples of such structures and facilities include boathouses, gazebos, screen houses, fish houses, pump houses, and detached decks.
WETLAND. Lands transitional between terrestrial and aquatic systems where the water table is usually at or near the surface or the land is covered by shallow water. For purposes of this definition, WETLANDS must have the following three characteristics:
(1) Predominance of hydric soils;
(2) Are inundated or saturated by surface or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support a prevalence of hydrophytic vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions; and
(3) Under normal circumstances support a prevalence of such vegetation.
YARD. A required open space on a lot which is unoccupied and unobstructed from the ground upward, except as otherwise provided for herein. The measurement of a yard shall be construed as the minimum horizontal distance between the lot line and the building line.
YARD, FRONT. A yard extending along the full width of the front lot line between side lot lines and extending from the abutting front street right-of-way line to a depth required in the yard regulations of the district in which such lot is located. On a corner lot the front yard shall abut both street rights-of-way.
YARD, REAR. A yard extending along a side lot line between the front and rear yards, having a width as specified in the yard regulations for the district in which such lot is located.
YARD, SIDE. A yard extending along the full depth between front lot line and rear lot line to a depth required in the yard regulations of the district in which such lot is located. On a corner lot, the yard area opposite each front yard shall be considered a side yard.
ZONING DISTRICT. See DISTRICT.
(Ord. 150, passed 2-22-2000; Ord. passed 3- -2007)