A. Application: In their interpretation and application, the provisions of this chapter shall be held to be the minimum requirements for the promotion of the public health, safety, morals and welfare. Where the conditions imposed by any provision of this chapter are either more restrictive or less restrictive than comparable conditions imposed by any other law, ordinance, statute, resolution or regulation of any kind, the regulations which are more restrictive, or which impose higher standards or requirements, shall prevail. No structure shall be erected, converted, enlarged, reconstructed or altered, and no structure or land shall be used for any purpose, nor in any manner, which is not in conformity with the provisions of this chapter.
B. Nonconforming Uses And Structures:
1. Any structure or use lawfully existing upon the effective date hereof may be continued at the size and in a manner of operation existing upon such date, except as hereinafter specified.
2. Nothing in this chapter shall prevent the placing of a structure in safe condition when such structure is declared unsafe by the building official.
3. When any unlawful nonconforming structure, or use of any structure or land, in any district, is discontinued for a period of more than one year, or is changed to a conforming use, any future use of said structure or land shall be in conformity with the provisions of this chapter.
4. When any nonconforming structure is destroyed by fire or other peril, such as collapse, explosion, public enemy, act of war or act of God to the extent of greater than fifty percent (50%) of its market value, is in need of replacement or substantial remodeling, and no building permit has been applied for within one hundred eighty (180) days of when the property is damaged, in this case, the City may impose reasonable conditions upon a building permit in order to mitigate any newly created impact on adjacent property.
5. Any structure which will, under this chapter, become nonconforming but for which a building permit has been lawfully granted prior to the effective date hereof, or of amendments thereto, may be completed in accordance with the approved plans; provided construction is started within sixty (60) days of the effective date hereof, or amendment thereof, and continues to completion within one year. Such structure shall thereafter be a legally existing nonconforming structure.
6. A lawful nonconforming use of a structure or parcel of land may be changed to a similar nonconforming use or to a less intense nonconforming use.
7. Normal maintenance of a building or other structure containing or related to a lawful nonconforming use is permitted, including necessary nonstructural repairs and incidental alterations which do not extend or intensify the nonconforming use.
8. Any alterations and additions made to a nonconforming structure or to a building located on a nonconforming lot that contains lawful residential units which are not specifically allowed by Minnesota Statutes 462.357, subdivision 1e shall require a variance.
C. Lot Provisions:
1. A lot of record existing upon the effective date hereof in any residential district, which does not meet the requirements of this Chapter as to area or width, may be utilized for single family detached dwelling purposes, provided the measurements of such area and width are within seventy percent (70%) of the requirements of this Chapter and subject to other applicable requirements of this Chapter, but said lot of record shall not be more intensively developed unless combined with one or more abutting lots or portions thereof so as to create a lot meeting the requirements of this Chapter.
A lot of record existing upon the effective date hereof in any Business B or Industrial I District, which does not meet the requirements of this Chapter as to area or width, may be developed, provided the measurements of such area and width are within seventy percent (70%) of the requirements of this Chapter and subject to other applicable requirements of this chapter.
2. Except in the case of planned unit developments as provided for herein, or in zoning district B-2 Noncentral Business District by conditional use permit or interim use permit, not more than one principal building shall be located on a zoning lot.
D. Accessory Buildings:
1. No accessory building or structure shall be constructed on any lot prior to the time of construction of the principal building to which it is accessory, except up to one such building not exceeding one hundred twenty (120) square feet in footprint and which is not on a permanent foundation may be allowed.
2. No accessory building shall exceed the height of the principal building or eighteen feet (18'), whichever is higher.
3. In all Residential R districts, the maximum size of detached accessory structures (individually or combined), as measured by the footprint of the structure, shall be no greater than as listed in the following table:
Lot Size | Maximum Footprint |
0 - 12,000 square feet | 1,400 square feet |
12,001 - 21,780 square feet | 1,600 square feet |
21,781 - 43,559 square feet | 1,800 square feet |
Greater than 43,560 square feet | 2,000 square feet |
4. No detached garages or other accessory buildings shall be located other than within the principal or accessory setback within any Residential R District.
5. No cellar, basement, tent, recreational vehicle, manufactured home, or accessory building shall at any time be used as an occupied dwelling, except manufactured homes located in an approved manufactured home park or as otherwise allowed by this Code.
6. Accessory buildings in the Central Business District B-1, Noncentral Business District B-2, and Industrial District I-1, may be located any place to the rear of the principal building, subject to the Building Code and the fire zone regulations. Accessory buildings in the Noncentral Business District B-2 may be located beside or in front of the principal building by conditional use permit or interim use permit.
7. In all Residential R Districts accessory structures or buildings of a factory painted or vinyl coated corrugated metal siding and/or roofing are permitted. All accessory sheds and garages shall include boxed eaves if they are greater than two hundred (200) square feet in total floor area.
E. Required Yards And Open Space:
1. No yard or other open space shall be reduced in area or dimension so as to make such yard or other open space less than the minimum required by this chapter, and if the existing yard or other open space as existing is less than the minimum required, it shall not be further reduced.
2. No required yard or other open space allocated to a building or dwelling group shall be used to satisfy yard, other open space or minimum lot area requirement for any other building.
3. The following shall not be considered to be encroachments on yard requirements required elsewhere in this chapter:
a. Chimneys, flag poles, sidewalks up to five feet (5') in width, wheelchair ramps, trees, shrubs, plants, mailboxes, awnings, open canopies, flues, belt courses, leaders, sills, pilasters, lintels, ornamental features, mechanical devices, cornices, eaves, gutters and the like, provided they do not extend more than two and one-half feet (21/2'), and off-street parking, except as hereinafter regulated.
b. Yard lights and nameplate signs for one- and two-family dwellings, lights for illuminating parking areas, loading areas or yards for safety and security purposes, provided the direct source of light is not visible from the public right-of-way or adjacent residential property, may be located to within five feet (5') of the front lot line.
c. Terraces, steps, uncovered porches, decks, stoops or similar structures, which do not extend above the height of the ground floor level of the principal building and maintain a two foot (2') minimum side yard and ten foot (10') street or avenue setback.
d. In side or rear yards only, bays not to exceed a depth of two feet (2') nor contain an area of more than twenty (20) square feet, fire escapes not to exceed a width of three feet (3') and open off street parking.
e. In rear yard only, balconies, accessory structures, except that no structure shall be closer than ten feet (10') from the rear lot line, breezeways, detached outdoor picnic shelters and recreational equipment, except as regulated hereinafter.
f. In side yards only, accessory structures, except that no accessory structure larger than forty eight (48) square feet shall be closer than five feet (5') from any interior side lot line and on a corner lot in all residential R districts, shall not be closer than fifteen feet (15') from a side lot line adjacent to a street or avenue. Accessory structures forty eight (48) square feet shall be closer than five feet (5') from any interior side lot line and on a corner lot in all residential R districts, shall not be closer than fifteen feet (15') from a side lot line adjacent to a street or avenue. Accessory structures forty eight (48) square feet or smaller shall be no closer than two feet (2') from any interior or corner side lot line.
4. On a corner lot, nothing shall be placed or allowed to grow in such a manner as to materially impede vision between a height of two and one-half feet (21/2') and ten feet (10') above the centerline grades of the intersecting streets. For uncontrolled intersections, the regulated area shall extend to the triangle created by connecting the end points of the lines within twenty five feet (25') of the street intersecting right-of-way lines and for controlled intersections within ten feet (10') of the street intersecting right-of-way lines.
5. In no event shall off street parking spaces, driveways, structures of any type, buildings or other impervious features in any residential district where the use of the lot is for between one and four (1 - 4) residential units which cover more than thirty three percent (33%) of up to the first twelve thousand (12,000) square feet of lot area and an additional fifteen percent (15%) of any square footage above twelve thousand (12,000) square feet. For all other uses, impervious coverage shall be limited to seventy five percent (75%) provided that all requirements of section 11.40 of this chapter are met.
6. Height limitations shall not apply to barns, silos and other structures on farms, to church spires, belfries, cupolas and domes, monuments, chimneys and smokestacks, flagpoles, public facilities and public utility facilities, transmission towers of commercial and private radio broadcasting stations, television antennas, and parapet walls extending not more than four feet (4') above the limiting height of the building, except as hereinafter provided.
F. Annexed Territory: No annexation petition shall be approved unless and until a hearing has been petitioned for placing the annexed territory in a zoning district or districts. In the event of an involuntary annexation, the City Council or the Planning Commission shall commence proceedings for placing the annexed territory in a zoning district or districts before the annexation becomes final, and call for a hearing thereon. In the event of an orderly annexation agreement, the City Council may zone the entire designated area subject to the orderly annexation after execution of said agreement and a zoning public hearing is held on the same. No building permits shall be issued in annexed territory until such hearing has been held and the territory assigned in a zoning district or districts.
G. Farming Operations: All farm operations in existence on or before June 3, 1974, will be permitted to continue operation, subject to the following conditions.
1. Agriculture, excepting commercial animal farms, fur farms, kennels, and poultry farms, but including truck gardening and other horticultural uses, is a permitted use in the district in which an existing operation is located; provided, that any new private stable or other new building in which farm animals are kept shall be a distance of sixty feet (60') or more from any other lot in a Residential R District.
2. Limited sales of products produced may be conducted on the premises from a roadside stand, but such stand shall not exceed twelve feet (12') in height or five hundred (500) square feet in floor area, and no portion of any such stand shall be located or erected nearer than forty feet (40') from any street line.
3. The City Council may require any farm operation to secure a conditional use permit or interim use permit to continue said operation in the event the farming operations are so intensive as to constitute a feedlot or an industrial type use consisting of the compounding, processing and packaging of products for wholesale or retail trade; and further, that such operations may tend to become permanent industrial type operations that cannot be terminated as can a normal farming operation.
H. Land Reclamation: Under this Chapter, land reclamation is the reclaiming of land by depositing of material so as to elevate the grade. Land reclamation shall be permitted only by conditional use permit or interim use permit in all districts. Any lot or parcel upon which four hundred (400) cubic yards or more of fill is to be deposited shall be land reclamation. The permit shall include as a condition thereof a finished grade plan which will not adversely affect the adjacent land, and as conditions thereof shall regulate the type of fill permitted, program for rodent control, plan for fire control and general maintenance of the site, controls of vehicular ingress and egress, and for control of materials disbursed by the wind or hauling of materials to or from the site.
I. Mining: The extraction of sand, gravel, or other material from the land in the amount of four hundred (400) cubic yards or more and removal thereof from the site without processing shall be mining. In all districts, the conduct of mining shall be permitted only upon issuance of a conditional use permit or interim use permit. Such permit shall include as a condition thereof, a plan for a finished grade which will not adversely affect the surrounding land or the development of the site on which the mining is being conducted and the route of trucks moving to and from the sites.
J. Soil Processing: The processing of sand, gravel or other material mined from the land shall be permitted only by conditional use permit or interim use permit. Such conditional permit shall include a site plan where the processing is to be done, showing the route of trucks moving to and from the site in removing processed material from the site, the condition in which the site shall be left upon completion and such permit shall not be granted for a period of longer than twelve (12) months.
K. Vacated Streets: Whenever any street, alley, easement or public way is vacated by official action, the zoning district abutting the centerline of the said vacated area shall not be affected by such processing.
L. Dwelling Units Prohibited: No cellar, garage, tent trailer, basement with unfinished structure above, or accessory building, shall at any time be used as a dwelling unit, except trailers located in an approved manufactured home park. The basement portion of a finished home or apartment building may be used for normal eating and sleeping purposes, provided it is properly dampproofed, has suitable fire protection and exits, and is otherwise approved by the building inspector.
A recreational vehicle shall not be considered a dwelling unit if it is located on a property that contains a primary dwelling (or where a dwelling is under active construction) for fourteen (14) days or less and is road ready and currently licensed. This time frame may be extended up to one hundred eighty (180) days between April 1 and October 31 upon approval by the Zoning Administrator after a written request by the property owner has been made.
M. Relocated Structures: Before any house or other structure is moved onto a vacant lot, the Zoning Administrator shall report to the City Council whether the structure will be compatible with other development in the area. If the City Council concurs with the decision of the Zoning Administrator that a structure would depreciate the area into which it is to be moved, it may withhold issuance of a permit for such relocation. The applicant shall submit photographs taken from two (2) or more angles of the structure to be moved and photos of the lot on which the structure is to be located, together with adjacent lots and structures. These requirements do not apply to construction sheds or other temporary structures to be located on a lot for eighteen (18) months or less.
N. Fences: Fences shall be permitted in all yards, subject to the following:
1. Fences in Residential Districts must comply with the height and setback requirements as listed below:
FENCE HEIGHT IN RESIDENTIAL DISTRICTS | ||
Location | Maximum Height1 | Distance From Lot Line2 |
FENCE HEIGHT IN RESIDENTIAL DISTRICTS | ||
Location | Maximum Height1 | Distance From Lot Line2 |
Front yard | 6 feet | 2 feet unless fence can be maintained entirely from 1 side, and then 0 feet |
Interior or street side yard | 6 feet | 2 feet unless fence can be maintained entirely from 1 side, and then 0 feet |
Rear yard (nonshoreland) | 6 feet | 2 feet unless fence can be maintained entirely from 1 side, then 0 feet. If the property abuts an alley, then 8 feet |
Shoreland | 6 feet | No setback required to riverbank, except that fences shall not be allowed within floodplain, unless they are farm fences which do not obstruct debris or water |
Buildable area | 8 feet | Not applicable |
Any property line adjoining a business or industrial zoned property | 6 feet unless otherwise allowed by conditional use permit or interim use permit | 2 feet unless fence can be maintained entirely from 1 side and then 0 feet |
Notes:
1. As measured from 6 inches above the adjacent ground level.
2. Does not apply to a lot line which is also a public right-of-way.
2. Fences in business and industrial districts must comply with the height and setback requirements as listed below:
FENCE HEIGHT IN BUSINESS AND INDUSTRIAL DISTRICTS | ||
Location | Maximum Height1 | Distance From Lot Line2 |
Any lot line | 6 feet, unless otherwise allowed by conditional use | 2 feet unless fence can be maintained entirely from 1 side, and then 0 feet |
Notes:
1. As measured from 6 inches above the adjacent ground level.
2. Does not apply to a lot line which is also a public right-of-way.
3. Fences over thirty inches (30") in height shall require a permit approved by the Zoning Administrator regardless of where on a property they are located, except that temporary fencing not exceeding six feet (6') in height may be installed to secure the perimeter of a construction site, provided that any such fencing is removed upon completion of the construction project. Such fencing shall not be limited to the approved fencing materials noted below.
4. Approved fencing materials include stone, brick, finished wood, rigid plastic, chain link, split rail fences or other materials commonly used for fencing. Other materials may only be approved by conditional use permit or interim use permit, except that the following types of fencing are prohibited unless specifically allowed otherwise: barbed wire, electrical fencing, razor wire, creosote lumber, chicken wire (unless used for the enclosure of gardens), concrete block or poured concrete, plastic webbing, plywood, or pressed wood. Notwithstanding the above prohibitions, commercially available snow fencing may be allowed between November 1 and March 15 of each calendar year.
5. No fence may be erected on either street side of a corner lot that will obstruct or impede the clear view of an intersection by approaching traffic, subject to the provisions of Subsection E4 of this Section.
6. No fence shall be erected where it will impede, in the opinion of the City Engineer or their designee the flow of water across or through a drainageway, drainage easement, wetland or a required stormwater management facility, (i.e., water quality/detention pond, rain garden, etc.).
7. Notwithstanding height limitations elsewhere in this Subsection, fences enclosing or adjacent to sport courts or fields, in any zoning district, may be up to twelve feet (12') in height with a minimum ten foot (10') setback from any property line. Such fences shall not exceed twenty five percent (25%) opacity.
8. Prior to issuance of a fence permit, a certificate of survey may be required by the Zoning Administrator for all fences, except for hedges and plantings, or walls to be constructed on a property line or when the fence is not clearly entirely on the subject property. This requirement for a certificate of survey may be waived if: a) stakes from a previously completed survey are in place and marked and the property line can be reasonably determined from those stakes; or b) if a signed, written statement from the neighboring property owner is submitted, indicating that they do not dispute the location of the fence.
9. That side of the fence considered to be the face, the side not attached to the primary structural supports, shall face the abutting property or street right-of-way.
10. Both sides of any fence or wall shall be maintained in a condition of reasonable repair and appearance by its owner and shall not be allowed to become and remain in a condition of disrepair or danger, or constitute a nuisance, public or private.
11. No barbed wire shall be used for fencing, except that it may be used on security fences on business or industrial zoned properties which are at least six feet (6') high, exclusive of the barbed wire or in the maintenance of existing barbed wire fences presently used in farming operations. All other barbed wire fences shall be removed before April 1, 1982.
12. Fence height shall be determined by the body of the fence, starting no greater than six inches (6") above the natural grade. Fence posts may extend a maximum of twelve inches (12") above the body of the fence.
O. Bulk Storage (Liquid): All uses associated with the bulk storage of oil, gasoline, liquid fertilizer, chemicals, and similar liquids shall require a conditional use permit or interim use permit in order that the City Council may have assurance that fire, explosion or water or soil contamination hazards are not present that would be detrimental to the public health, safety, and general welfare. The City Council may require the development of diking around said tanks, suitably sealed, to hold a leakage capacity equal to one hundred fifteen percent (115%) of the tank capacity.
P. Zoning And Comprehensive Plan: Any change in zoning granted by the City Council shall automatically amend the Comprehensive Plan in accordance with said zoning change.
Q. Residential Structures: Unless located in a manufactured home park, all habitable dwellings shall have a minimum width and length of twenty-four feet (24') and a permanent foundation meeting the latest edition of the Minnesota State Building Code. All dwelling units, excluding flat roofed structures, shall have eaves of twelve inches (12"), at minimum. All habitable apartment or other multi-family housing units may have lesser width or length than twenty-four feet (24') but shall have a minimum floor space of five hundred seventy six (576) square feet.
R. Building Numbers: One principal building on each property shall display numbers on the street or avenue side of the building according to their address and shall be readable from the street or avenue by emergency vehicles. Numbers shall be a minimum of four inches (4") in height.
S. Setbacks Required: Regardless of whether a building permit is required under section 5.02 of this Code or any other section of this Code, and unless specifically stated otherwise, all buildings and other structures over thirty inches (30") in height shall meet any and all setbacks required under this chapter. (Ord. 96, 6th Series, eff. 9-5-2017; amd. Ord. 25, 7th Series, eff. 6-14-2021; Ord. 31, 7th Series, eff. 5-9-2022)