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§ 154.65 VARIANCES.
   (A)   Board of Appeals and Adjustments. The City Council shall be the Board of Appeals and Adjustments for this city, and as provided by M.S. § 462.354, subd. 2, as it may be amended from time to time, shall have the powers granted under M.S. § 462.357, subd. 6, as it may be amended from time to time.
   (B)   Variances.
      (1)   Pursuant to M.S. § 462.357, subd. 6, as it may be amended from time to time, the City Council, acting as a Board of Appeals and Adjustments, may issue variances from the provisions of this chapter. A variance is a modification or variation of the provisions of this chapter as applied to a specific piece of property.
      (2)   Variances shall only be permitted:
         (a)   When they are in harmony with the general purposes and intent of this chapter; and
         (b)   When the variances are consistent with the comprehensive plan.
      (3)   Variances may be granted when the applicant for the variance establishes that there are practical difficulties in complying with the zoning ordinance.
      (4)   PRACTICAL DIFFICULTIES as used in connection with the granting of a variance, means that:
         (a)   The property owner proposes to use the property in a reasonable manner not permitted by the zoning ordinance;
         (b)   The plight of the landowner is due to circumstances unique to the property not created by the landowner; and
         (c)   The variance, if granted, will not alter the essential character of the locality.
      (5)   Economic considerations alone do not constitute practical difficulties. Practical difficulties include, but are not limited to, inadequate access to direct sunlight for solar energy systems.(Ord. 19-1, passed 8-10-1998; Ord. 19-17, passed 8-8-2011)
§ 154.66 ACTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL.
   (A)   Initiation of amendment. Amendments may be proposed by the City Council or any person who has a freehold interest or contractual interest in a building, structure, lot, or parcel of land.
   (B)   Application for amendment. Application for an amendment shall be filed with the Code Administrator who shall forward all such applications to the City Council.
   (C)   Notice of public hearing. Notice of hearing shall include time, place, and purpose of such hearing and shall be published at least ten days before the hearing in the official newspaper of the city.
   (D)   Public hearing. At the public hearing any person may express opposition to, or support for, the amendment.
   (E)   Decision of City Council. In the event that a written protest against a proposed amendment or conditional use application is filed by owners of 20% or more of the area within the proposed amendment or owners of 20% or more of the adjoining land within 150 feet of the proposed site excluding street rights-of-way such amendment or conditional use application shall not become effective except by the favorable vote of three fourths of the City Counci1.
   (F)   Effect of denial of application. An application for an amendment to the zoning district map or conditional use permit which has been denied by the City Council shall not be made for a period of one year from the date of such denials, unless the new application is substantially different from the denied application.
(Ord. 19-1, passed 8-10-1998)
§ 154.99 PENALTY.
   Any person who violates any provision of this chapter or fails to comply with any of its requirements including the conditions for modification of use, building, or structure shall be guilty of a petty misdemeanor which is punishable by a fine not more than the maximum fine imposed under the laws of the State of Minnesota for petty misdemeanor violations. Each day such violation continues shall constitute a separate offense.
(Ord. 19-1, passed 8-10-1998; Res. 15-107, passed 1-12-2015)
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