For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
ACCESSORY USE or STRUCTURE. A use or structure on the same lot with, and of a nature customarily incidental and subordinate to the principal use of structure.
AGRICULTURAL. The use of land for agricultural purposes, including farming, dairying, pasturage, agriculture, horticulture, floriculture, viticulture and animal and poultry husbandry and the necessary accessory uses for packing, treating or storing the produce; provided, however, that the operation of any such accessory uses shall be secondary to that of the normal agricultural activities.
AGRICULTURAL STRUCTURE. Any structure existing or erected and used principally for agricultural purposes, with the exception of dwelling units.
ALLEYS. Any strip of land publicly or privately owned, less than 24 feet in width between property lines, set aside for public vehicular access to abutting property.
ARTERIAL STREET or HIGHWAY. A street or highway of considerable continuity designed primarily to serve as an intercommunication link between various sectors of the area and beyond (such as from within the city to outlying areas).
BLOCK. The property abutting on one side of a street and lying between the two nearest intersecting or intercepting streets or railroad right-of-ways or unsubdivided acreage.
BOAT HOUSE. A structure not more than one story high used for storage of boats, boat motors, boating equipment, life jackets, gas cans, water skies, or marina equipment.
BUILDING DRAIN. The part of the lowest horizontal piping of a building drainage system which receives the discharge from soil, waste and other drainage pipes inside the walls of any building and conveys the same to the building sewer.
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 SEWER. The part of the horizontal portion of the building drainage system extending from the building drain to its connection with the septic tank and carrying the sewage of but one building.
CLEAR-CUTTING. The removal of an entire stand of trees.
COLLECTOR STREET. A street designed to serve the internal traffic circulation of a recognized land use area which distributes and collects with “arterial streets” or “highways”.
COMMERCIAL. Business activity of a normal wholesale or retail nature and including such travel related facilities as automobile accessory stores and gasoline filling stations, bowling alley, cafe (including drive-in eating establishments), dairy product stores, self-service laundry, liquor stores, motel, hotels, restaurant and resorts and related recreation uses.
CROWDING POTENTIAL. The ratio of total acreage of a water body to shore miles.
CUL-DE-SAC. A comparatively short street having but one end open to traffic and the other end being permanently terminated by a vehicular turnaround.
DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES. Those goals determined from time to time in plan or policy form as part of the city's comprehensive planning program that indicates how the city wishes to develop itself in line with orderly and logical direction.
DWELLING. A house.
DWELLING, SINGLE-FAMILY. A detached residence designed for/or occupied by one family only.
DWELLING, TWO-FAMILY. A residence designed for/or occupied by two families only, with separate housekeeping and cooking facilities for each.
DWELLING, MULTIPLE-FAMILY. A residence designed for/or occupied by three or more families, with separate housekeeping and cooking facilities for each.
ESTIMATED VALUE. Value determined by multiplying square footage of total floor area of a structure times the most current State of Minnesota valuation data.
FAMILY. One or more persons occupying a single housekeeping unit and using common cooking facilities; provided that, unless all members are related by blood or marriage, no such FAMILY shall contain over five persons.
FLOODPLAIN. The areas adjoining a watercourse which have been or hereafter may be covered by the regional flood.
FLOODWAY. The channel of the watercourse and those portions of the adjoining flood plains which are reasonably required to carry and discharge the regional flood.
GRADING. Changing the natural topography of the land.
HOME OCCUPATION. Any use customarily conducted entirely within a dwelling and carried on by the inhabitants therein, which use is clearly incidental and secondary to the use of the dwelling for dwelling purposes and does not change the character thereof.
INDIVIDUAL SEWAGE DISPOSAL SYSTEM. A sewage disposal system, other than a public or community system, which receives sewage from an individual establishment. Unless otherwise indicated, the word “system” as it appears in this chapter, means “INDIVIDUAL SEWAGE DISPOSAL SYSTEM.”
INDUSTRIAL. Any activity engaged in the cleaning, servicing, testing, repair or storage of goods or products.
LOCAL STREETS. A street designed for access to abutting property and not intended to facilitate through traffic.
LOT. Land occupied or to be occupied by a building and its accessory buildings or by a dwelling group and its accessory buildings, together with such open spaces as are required under the provisions of this chapter, having not less than the minimum area required by this chapter for a building site in the district in which such lot is situated and having its principal frontage on a street.
LOT DEPTH. The distance between front and rear lot lines. The rear lot line shall be that line which abuts any alley. Where no lines of the lot abut an alley, the average of the longest sides of the lot shall be the depth. If a lot is square and no side thereof abuts an alley, then the depth shall be the sides of the lot which run perpendicular to the front of any building existing or hereafter constructed on the lot.
LOT WIDTH. The distance between straight side lot lines measured at a point equidistant from the front and rear lot lines.
MOBILE HOME. A movable living unit designed for year-round occupancy.
MOBILE HOME COURT. A parcel of land under single ownership which has been planned and improved for the placement of mobile homes for non-transient use.
MUNICIPALITY. Any city.
NON-CONFORMING USES. Any use of land established before the effective date of a municipal ordinance which does not conform to the use restrictions of a particular zoning district. This should not be confused with substandard dimensions of a conforming use.
NORMAL HIGH WATER MARK. A mark delineating the highest water level which has been maintained for a sufficient period of time to leave evidence upon the landscape.
PARKING SPACE, ON-SITE. An on-site parking space shall comprise not less than 180 square feet of parking stall plus necessary maneuvering space. Space for maneuvering incidental to parking or unparking shall not encroach upon any public way. Every ON-SITE PARKING SPACE shall be accessible from a public way.
PERCOLATION TESTER. An individual who is certified by Grant County who has presented bona fide evidence to the Zoning Administrator that he successfully completed a course in soil percolation testing.
PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT. A type of development which may incorporate a variety of land uses planned and developed as a unit.
PLAT. The map, drawing or chart on which the subdivider’s plan for subdivision is presented to the City Council for approval.
PUBLIC WATERS. Any waters of the state which serve a beneficial public purpose, as defined in M.S. § 150.37, Subd. 6 as it may be amended from time to time.
REGIONAL FLOOD. A flood which is representative of large floods known to have occurred generally in Minnesota and reasonably characteristic of what can be expected to occur with an average frequency in the magnitude of the 100 year recurrence interval.
SETBACKS. The minimum horizontal distance between a structure and the normal high water mark or between a structure and a road or highway right-of-way line.
SHORELAND. Land located within the following distances from public waters:
(1) 1,000 feet from normal high water mark of the lake, pond or flowage; and
(2) 300 feet from a river or stream, or the landward extent of a flood plain designated by ordinance on such river or stream, whichever is greater; however, the practical limits of shorelands may be less whenever the waters involved are bounded by natural topographic divides which extend landward from the waters for lesser distances.
SIGN. Any words, lettering, parts of letters, figures, numerals, phrases, sentences, emblems, devices, designs, trade names or trade marks by which anything is publicized and such as are commonly used to designate an individual, a firm, an association, a corporation, a profession, a business or a commodity or product and which is visible from any public street and used to attract the attention of the public.
SPECIAL USE. A use which is permitted within a zoning district only when allowed by the City Council or their legally designated agent if certain conditions are met which eliminate or minimize the incompatibility with other permitted uses of the district.
STRUCTURE. An object constructed or installed by man, including, but without limitations, buildings, towers, smoke-stacks, and overhead transmission lines.
SUBDIVISION. Improved or unimproved land or lands which are divided for the purpose of sale or lease, or divided successfully within a five year period for the purpose of sale or lease, into three or more lots or parcels of less than five acres each, contiguous in area and which are under common ownership or control.
SUBSTANDARD USE. Any use of shorelands existing prior to the date of enactment of any municipal ordinance which is permitted within the applicable zoning district but does not meet the minimum lot area and length of water frontage, structure setbacks, or other dimensional standards of the ordinance.
VARIANCE. Any modification or variation of official controls where it is determined that, because of hardships, strict enforcement of the official controls is impractical.
(Ord. 126, passed 6-28-76)