For the purpose of this subchapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates, or requires, a different meaning.
ACCESSORY STRUCTURE or FACILITY. A building or improvement subordinate to a principal use which, because of the nature of its use, can reasonably be located at, or greater than, normal structure setbacks.
BOATHOUSE. A structure designed, and used, solely for the storage of boats, or boating equipment.
BUILDING LINE. A line parallel to a lot line, or the ordinary high water level at the required setback beyond which a structure may not exceed.
COMMERCIAL USE. The principal use of land, or buildings, for the sale, lease, rental, or trade of products, goods, and services.
COMMISSIONER. The Commissioner of the Department of National Resources.
DECK. A horizontal, unenclosed platform with, or without, attached railings, seats, trellises, or other features, attached, or functionally related, to a principal use or site, and at any point extending more than three feet above the ground.
DUPLEX, TRIPLEX, AND QUAD. A dwelling structure on a single lot, having two, three, and four units, respectively, being attached by common walls, and each unit is equipped with separate sleeping, cooking, eating, living, and sanitation facilities.
DWELLING SITE. A designated location for residential use by one, or more, persons using temporary, or movable, shelter, including camping and recreational vehicle sites.
DWELLING UNIT. Any structure, or portion of a structure, or other shelter designed as short-term, or long-term, living quarters for one, or more, persons, including rental or time-share accommodations, such as motels, hotels, and resort rooms and cabins.
EXTRACTIVE USE. The use of land for surface, or subsurface, removal of sand, gravel, rock, industrial minerals, other non-metallic minerals, and peat not regulated under M.S. §§ 93.44 through 93.51, as they may be amended from time to time.
GUEST COTTAGE. A structure used as a dwelling unit that may contain sleeping spaces, and kitchen and bathroom facilities, in addition to those provided in the primary dwelling unit on a lot.
HARDSHIP. When used in connection with the granting of a variance, means the property in question cannot be put to a reasonable use if used under conditions allowed by the official controls. The plight of the landowner is due to circumstances unique to the property not created by the landowner, and the variance, if granted, will not alter the essential character of the locality. Economic considerations alone shall not constitute an undue hardship if reasonable use for the property exists under the terms of this subchapter.
HEIGHT OF BUILDING. The vertical distance between the highest adjoining ground level at the building, or ten feet above the lowest ground level, whichever is lower, and the highest point of a flat roof, or average height of the highest gable of a pitched, or hipped, roof.
INDUSTRIAL USE. The use of land or building for the production, manufacture, warehousing, storage, or transfer of goods, products, commodities, or other wholesale items.
INTENSIVE VEGETATION CLEARING. The complete removal of trees or shrubs in a contiguous patch, strip, row, or block.
LOT. A parcel of land designated by plat, metes and bounds, registered land survey, auditor’s plot, or other accepted means, and separated from other parcels, or portions, by the description for the purpose of sale, lease, or separation.
NON-RIPARIAN LOT. A lot with no frontage on a waterbody.
RIPARIAN LOT. A lot with frontage on a waterbody.
LOT WIDTH. The shortest distance between lot lines measured at the midpoint of the building lot line.
NON-CONFORMITY. Any legal use, structure, or parcel of land already in existence, recorded, or authorized before the effective date of this subchapter, or amendments thereto, that would not have been permitted to become established under the terms of this subchapter if the section of the subchapter had been in effect prior to the date it was established, recorded, or authorized.
ORDINARY HIGH WATER LEVEL. The boundary of public waters and wetlands, and shall be an elevation delineating the highest water level which has been maintained for a sufficient period of time to leave evidence upon the landscape, commonly that point where the natural vegetation changes from predominantly aquatic to predominantly terrestrial. For watercourses, the ORDINARY HIGH WATER LEVEL is the elevation of the top of the bank of the channel. For reservoirs and flowages, the ORDINARY HIGH WATER LEVEL is the operating elevation of the normal summer pool.
PUBLIC WATERS. Any waters as defined in M.S. § 103G.005, subd. 15, as it may be amended from time to time.
SEMI-PUBLIC USE. The use of land by a private, nonprofit organization to provide a public service that is ordinarily open to some persons outside the regular constituency of the organization.
SENSITIVE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT. The preservation and management of areas unsuitable for development in their natural state due to constraints, such as shallow soils over groundwater or bedrock, highly erosive, or expansive, soils, steep slopes, susceptibility to flooding, or occurrence of flora or fauna in need of special protection.
SETBACK. The minimum horizontal distance between a structure, sewage treatment system, or other facility, and an ordinary high water level, sewage treatment system, road, highway, property line, or other facility.
SEWAGE TREATMENT SYSTEM. A septic tank and soil absorption system, or other individual or cluster type sewage treatment system, as described, and regulated, herein.
SEWER SYSTEM. Pipelines or conduits, pumping stations, force main, and all other construction, devices, appliances, or appurtenances used for conducting sewage or industrial waste, or other wastes, to a point of ultimate disposal.
SHORE IMPACT ZONE. Land located between the ordinary high water level of a public water level of a public water, and a line parallel to it at a setback of 50% of the structure setback.
SHORELAND. Land located within the following distances from public waters: 1,000 feet from the ordinary high water level of a lake, pond, or flowage; 300 feet from a river or stream; or the landward extent of a floodplain designated by ordinance on a river or stream, whichever is greater. The limits of SHORELANDS may be reduced whenever the waters involved are bounded by topographic divides that extend landward from the waters for lesser distances, and when approved by the Commissioner.
SIGNIFICANT HISTORIC SITE. Any archaeological site, standing structure, or other property that meets the criteria for eligibility to the national Register of Historic Places, or is listed in the State Register of Historic Sites, or is determined to be unplatted cemetery that falls under the provisions of M.S. § 307.08, as it may be amended from time to time. A HISTORICAL SITE meets these criteria if it is presently listed on either register, or if it is determined to meet the qualifications for listing after review by the state archaeologist, or the director of the State Historical Society. All unplatted cemeteries are automatically considered to be SIGNIFICANT HISTORICAL SITES.
SPECIAL USE. A land use, or development, that would not be appropriate generally, but may be allowed with appropriate restrictions, as provided by official controls upon a finding that certain conditions, as detailed in the zoning provisions, exist, the use or development conforms to the comprehensive land use plan of the city, and the use is compatible with the existing neighborhood.
STEEP SLOPE. Land where agricultural activity or development is either not recommended, or described as poorly suited due to slope steepness and the site’s soil characteristics, as mapped, and described, in available county soil surveys, or other technical reports, unless appropriate design, and construction, techniques, and farming practices, are used in accordance with the provisions of this subchapter. Where specific information is not available, STEEP SLOPES are lands having average slopes over 12%, as measured over horizontal distances of 50 feet or more, that are not bluffs.
STRUCTURE. A building or appurtenance, including decks, except aerial, or underground, utility lines, such as sewer, electric, telephone, telegraph, gas lines, tower, poles, and other supporting facilities.
SUBDIVISION. Land that is divided for the purpose of sale, rent, or lease.
SURFACE WATER ORIENTED COMMERCIAL USE. The use of land for commercial purposes, where access to, and use of, a surface water feature is an integral part of the normal conductance of business. Marinas, resorts, and restaurants with transient docking facilities are examples of the use.
VARIANCE. A provision for varying the literal provisions of the zoning provisions in instances where their strict enforcement would cause undue hardship because of circumstances unique to the individual property under consideration; and to grant such VARIANCES only when it is demonstrated that the actions will be in keeping with the spirit, and intent, of the zoning provisions.
WATER ORIENTED ACCESSORY STRUCTURE OR FACILITY. A small, above ground building, or other improvement, except stairways, fences, docks, and retaining walls, which, because of the relationship of its use to a surface water feature, reasonably needs to be located closer to public waters than the normal structure setback. Examples of such structures and facilities include boathouses, gazebos, screen houses, fish houses, pump houses, and detached decks.
(Prior Code, § 11.60)