The design and performance standards are established to encourage a high standard of development by providing assurance that land uses will be compatible. The performance standards are designed to prevent and eliminate those conditions which depreciate property values that cause blight or are detrimental to the environment. Before any building permit is approved, the Zoning Administrator shall determine whether the proposed use will conform to the design and performance standards. The applicant or owner shall supply data necessary to demonstrate such conformance.
(A) Noise. It is unlawful to make, continue or cause to be made or continued, any noise in excess of the noise levels set forth in Minnesota Rules 7030.0040, which includes standards for activities by the noise area classification (NAC) system, established in part by Minnesota Rules 7030.0050, unless such noise be reasonably necessary to the preservation of life, health, safety or property.
(B) Outdoor storage.
(1) All materials and equipment shall be stored within a building, unless outdoor storage is approved through the issuance of a conditional use permit. This excludes materials, trailers or equipment in use in construction or landscaping on the premises, and except for off-street parking and loading areas.
(2) Trailers. Use of any trailers for storage, or of containerized storage devices, shall be allowed by conditional use permit only, subject to annual review.
(a) Such trailers or containers shall not be allowed unless completely screened, or maintained on the exterior.
(b) All such trailers or containers shall be located to the rear of the principal structure, and shall be parked in good order so as to minimize their visibility from the street.
(c) All such trailers or containers must be moveable on premises, may not contain fuels, volatile chemicals, or other flammable materials, and shall be subject to inspection by state and local fire department officials. No such trailers or containers may be stacked.
(d) Earthen or other permanent fixed ramps may not be used with trailers or containers used for storage. The wheels on such trailers must remain at grade, i.e., wheels may not be dug into the ground to create a ramp.
(e) Trailers and containers used for storage shall occupy no more than an area equal to 7% of the manufacturing and warehousing floor area of the permanent structures on the property, except that up to 4 such trailers and containers may be placed on any property that has a completed principal structure; however in no instance shall the total area of such storage exceed the total area of the manufacturing/warehousing area of the principal structure.
(f) Unlicensed vehicles designed as a contractor's job shop or office shall not be permitted.
(C) Refuse and waste. All waste material, debris, refuse, or garbage shall be kept in an enclosed building or properly contained in a closed container designed for such purposes, with the exception of crop residue. The owner of vacant land shall be responsible for keeping such land free of refuse. Wastes shall be disposed of in a manner that is not dangerous to public health and safety, nor will damage public waste transmission or disposal facilities.
(D) Toxic or noxious matter. Any use shall be so operated in compliance with the Clean Air Act, as amended, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and MN Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) regulations. All activities that emit radioactivity shall comply with the minimum requirements of the federal regulatory body.
(E) Air pollution. Any use shall be operated so as to conform to the regulations and standards adopted by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
(F) Nuisance. Unused refrigerators or similar containers with doors which fasten automatically when closed shall not be exposed or accessible to the public. In addition, the regulations and standards adopted in City Code Ch. 90 Nuisances; Health and Safety shall be employed. Any proposed use creating periodic earthshaking vibration shall be prohibited if undue vibrations are perceptible beyond boundaries of the property on which the use is located. This standard shall not apply to vibrations during the process of construction.
(G) Screening.
(1) Where any business or industry (structure, parking or storage) is adjacent to property zoned or developed for residential or highway commercial use, that business or industry shall provide an earth berm a minimum of 6 feet in height and screening along the boundary of the residential and/or commercial property. Screening shall also be provided where a business, parking lot, or industry is located across the street from a residential zone, but not on that side of a business or industry considered to be the front.
(2) All outdoor storage shall be screened. The exceptions are (1) merchandise being displayed for sale (2) materials and equipment presently being used for construction on the premises.
(3) The screening required in this section may consist of a fence, trees, shrubs, and berms, but shall not extend within 15 feet of any street or driveway. The screening shall be placed along property lines or in case of screening along a street, 20 feet from the street right-of-way with landscaping between the screening and pavement. Planting of a type approved by the Council may also be required in addition to or in lieu of fencing.
(H) Landscaping and required yards/setbacks. All developed uses shall provide a landscaped yard, including grass, decorative stones, or shrubs and trees, along all streets. This yard shall be kept clear of all structures, storage, and off-street parking.
(1) Except for driveways, the yard shall extend along the entire frontage of the lot, and along both streets in the case of a corner lot: such yard shall have a depth of at least 10 feet. No landscape material, other than grass, shall be placed within drainage or utility easements. Rock or riprap may be allowed upon review and approval by the City Council provided the proposed material does not interfere with drainage or utilities.
(2) All structures and areas requiring landscaping and fences shall be maintained so as not to be unsightly or present harmful health or safety conditions.
(3) Required yards and setback areas, except driveways and areas used as a garage or accessory building, shall be graded to final elevations and sodded or seeded and landscaped with trees and shrubs. Said grading and landscaping shall be completed within 180 days after first occupancy of the building. Any fence, wall or other similar work must be completed within 180 days after construction commences. All property developed and property for which construction has commenced or a building permit issued prior to December 31, 1991 shall conform to this requirement on or before June 30, 1992.
(5) Perimeter trees. Industrial sites shall contain, at a minimum, 1 tree required per 40 feet of the site perimeter.
(6) Entry plantings: Each "entry and focal area of a development shall be treated with landscape development (trees, shrubs, etc.). No numerical requirement of plants is provided, but the landscape plan shall reflect the proposed treatment. Trees required on the perimeter calculation are not applicable to this design feature.
(8) Miscellaneous screenings: As identified in § 154.167(G) other screening shall be provided. No numerical requirement of plants is provided. The perimeter tree planting requirement may be used to provide trees for this purpose, if coniferous trees are used.
(I) Outdoor lighting and glare. Any artificial lighting used to illuminate an off-street parking area, sign or other structure shall be arranged so as to deflect light away from any adjoining residential zone or from the public streets. Direct or sky-reflected glare, whether from floodlights or from high temperature processes such as combustion or welding, shall not be directed into any adjoining property. The source of lights shall be hooded or controlled in some manner so as not to light adjacent property. Bare incandescent light bulbs shall not be permitted in view of adjacent property or public right- of-way. Any light or combination of lights which cast light on a public street shall not exceed 1 foot candle (meter reading) as measured from the centerline of said street. Any light or combination of lights which cast light on residential property shall not exceed 0.4 candles (meter reading) as measured from said property. All outdoor lighting shall be directed perpendicular to the ground or directly on a building so that no direct rays are visible from off the property.
(J) Fence and walls. Maintenance-free fence and walls and hedges are permitted in the yard setback area under the following conditions:
(1) A fence or wall not exceeding 6 feet in height may be constructed in any side or rear year setback area;
(2) A fence or wall not exceeding 3½ feet in height may be constructed in any front yard;
(3) No fence, hedge or wall shall cause a visual obstruction to traffic.
(4) Fences and walls are structures and require a building permit and shall meet all Minnesota State Building Code requirements for such structures.
(K) Traffic visibility. No wall, fence, structure, tree, shrub, vegetation or other obstruction shall be permitted in any yard or setback which poses a danger to traffic by obscuring the view from any street or roadway. Visibility from any street or roadway shall be unobstructed above the height of 2 feet to a height of 5 feet within the triangle described as beginning at the intersection of the projected curb lines of 2 intersecting streets, thence 30 feet along 1 curb, thence diagonally to a point 30 feet from the point of beginning of the other curb line, thence to the point of beginning.
(L) Sidewalks and trails. In projects involving new construction, the plans and improvements must include construction of a sidewalk or trail where 1 is included in the city's sidewalk or trail plan and boulevard sodding and street trees shall be provided consistent with city requirements.
(M) No more than one structure. There shall be no more than 1 principal structure on 1 lot except as provided under planned unit development provisions.
(N) Utilities. Shall be placed underground and meters shall be screened from view from the street. Buildings designed for human occupancy must have and be connected to city water and the city sanitary sewer system.
(O) Fabricating must be inside. All fabrication, manufacturing, processing, or production shall be conducted wholly within an enclosed building.
(P) Erosion. Soil erosion and sedimentation control shall be used/employed during construction and during the duration of the use of the property as required in the Soil Erosion and Sediment Control provisions of City Code Ch. 153 Subdivisions.
(Q) Parking and loading. Off-street parking and unloading areas shall be provided in accordance with the off-street parking and off-street loading requirements. Modifications to all parcels and buildings are also subject to the provisions of §§ 154.221 through 154.230 Off-street Parking and Loading Spaces.
(Ord. 2013-05, passed 5-20-2013; Am. Ord. 2020-01, passed 2-3-2020)