All legally established non-conformities as of the date of this chapter may continue, but they will be managed according to applicable state statutes and other regulations of this city for the subjects of alterations and additions, repair after damage, discontinuance of use and intensification of use; except that the following standards will also apply in shoreland areas.
(A) Construction on non-conforming lots of record.
(1) Lots of record in the office of the County Recorder on the date of enactment of local shoreland controls that do not meet the requirements of § 153.177 of this chapter may be allowed as building sites without variances from lot size requirements provided the use is permitted in the zoning district, the lot has been in separate ownership from abutting lands at all times since it became substandard, was created compliant with official controls in effect at the time and sewage treatment and setback requirements of this chapter are met.
(2) A variance from setback requirements must be obtained before any use, sewage treatment system or zoning permit is issued for a lot. In evaluating the variance, the Board of Adjustment shall consider sewage treatment and water supply capabilities or constraints of the lot and shall deny the variance if adequate facilities cannot be provided.
(3) If, in a group of two or more contiguous lots under the same ownership, any individual lot does not meet the requirements of § 153.177 of this subchapter, the lot must not be considered as a separate parcel of land for the purposes of sale or development. The lot must be combined with the one or more contiguous lots so they equal one or more parcels of land, each meeting the requirements of § 153.177 of this subchapter as much as possible.
(B) Additions or expansions to non-conforming structures.
(2) Deck additions may be allowed without a variance to a structure not meeting the required setback from the ordinary high water level if all of the following criteria and standards are met:
(a) The structure existed on the date the structure setbacks were established;
(b) Thorough evaluation of the property and structure reveals no reasonable location for a deck meeting or exceeding the existing ordinary high water level setback of the structure;
(c) The deck encroachment toward the ordinary high water level does not exceed 15% of the existing setback of the structure from the ordinary high water level or does not encroach closer than 30 feet, whichever is more restrictive; and
(d) The deck is constructed primarily of wood and is not roofed or screened.
(C) Non-conforming sewage treatment systems.
(1) A sewage treatment system not meeting the requirements of § 153.199 must be upgraded, at a minimum, any time a permit or variance of any type is required for any improvement on or use of the property. For the purposes of this provision, a sewage treatment system shall not be considered non-conforming if the only deficiency is the sewage treatment system’s improper setback from the ordinary high water level.
(2) (a) The governing body of the city has by formal resolution notified the Commissioner of its program to identify non-conforming sewage treatment systems, which are located in the shoreland area. The withholding of building permit, variance or rezoning applications will be done until an evaluation is conducted on an applicant’s existing sewage treatment system. If a determination is made that the treatment system is non-conforming, the property owner will be required to bring the system into compliance within two years. After the property owner brings the sewage treatment system into compliance, the city will undertake review of and consider the application for a zoning permit, variance or rezoning.
(b) Sewage systems installed according to all applicable local shoreland management standards adopted under M.S. § 115.55, as amended from time to time, in effect at the time of installation, may be considered as conforming unless they are determined to be failing, except that systems using cesspools, leaching pits, seepage pits or other deep disposal methods or systems with less soil treatment area separation above groundwater than required by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s Chapters 7080 through 7083 for design of on-site sewage treatment systems, shall be considered non-conforming.
(Ord. 209.5, passed 12-14-1994)