Chapter 11, Zoning ordinance
Nowthen City Code · 44 sections · Official Chapter 11 PDF ↗
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A. Title: This Chapter shall be known as the Nowthen Zoning Ordinance and will be hereinafter referred to as this Chapter. B. Comprehensive Plan: Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes 473.858, as may be amended, the City's adopted Comprehensive Plan shall serve as the basis upon which land use and development shall be regulated. This Chapter shall not conflict with and shall be based upon and implement t…
A. The zoning districts are designed to implement the intents and purposes of the Comprehensive Plan. B. The zoning districts are based upon the Comprehensive Plan which has the purpose of protecting the public health, safety, convenience, and general welfare. Before any amendment to the boundary lines of the established zoning districts are made, any necessary amendments must first be made to the…
A. Intent: This district is intended primarily to include those areas reserved for public recreation activities. B. Permitted Uses: 1\. Agricultural uses, except feed lots. 2\. Public parks and playgrounds. 3\. Public open space, nature trails. 4\. Conservation and protection of ground water recharge areas. 5\. Storm water holding areas. 6\. Nature interpretive centers and other public buildings. …
A. Intent: This district is intended for application in those areas of the City where large sections of land have become subject to increased amounts of single family residential development and hobby farms. Marginal soils, rough topography, and insufficient irrigation may make these lands uneconomical for long term agricultural purposes. There are some suitable sites for single family home constr…
A. Intent: The purpose of the RRT, Rural Residential Transition, District is to provide for large lot single family uses within a limited area of Nowthen, where smaller lot sizes, but still rural, residential development in the southeast area of the City is prevalent. This district is intended to create a transition from the 8/40 RRA District to the one-acre lot sizes around the Rogers Lake area a…
A. Intent: The general intent of this district is to accommodate those farmers willing to make long term commitments to agricultural operations. This district is intended to contain those areas of the City of Nowthen where, because of the land capability, and the capital investment in farming operations, it is necessary to preserve, promote, maintain, and enhance the use of land for long term agri…
A. Statutory Authorization and Policy: 1\. Statutory Authorization. This shoreland ordinance is adopted pursuant to the authorization and policies contained in Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 103F, Minnesota Regulations, Parts 6120.2500 - 6120.3900, and the planning and zoning enabling legislation in Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 462. 2\. Policy. The uncontrolled use of shorelands of Nowthen, Minnesota …
A. Statutory Authorization: The legislature of the State of Minnesota has, in Minnesota Statutes Chapter 103F and Chapter 462 delegated the responsibility to local government units to adopt regulations designed to minimize flood losses. Therefore, the City Council of the City of Nowthen, Minnesota does ordain as follows: B. Findings of Fact: 1\. The flood hazard areas of Nowthen, Minnesota, are su…
A. Purpose: 1\. The purpose of this Section is to allow for clustered residential development only in the Rural Residential Agricultural District where such development will not result in a service burden to local government units, will not create land use conflicts, and will not have an adverse impact on the environment. As defined in this Chapter, cluster development is a pattern of subdivision …
A. Detached accessory structures shall be located in side or rear yards. 1\. Accessory structures shall comply with all setback requirements of the principal structure. 2\. Accessory structures shall not be located nearer the front lot line than the principal structure or three hundred (300) feet setback from the centerline of local, collector or arterial streets. 3\. If the principal structure is…
A. Restricted Use/Location: Except as referenced in Section 11-4-7, Temporary Habitation, mobile homes are restricted to manufactured home parks which comply with all applicable State, County, and City regulations and ordinances. The City will not consider applications for mobile home parks unless and until municipal sewer and water facilities are in place serving the proposed site. At such time, …
A. Front Yard Setback: Where structures and adjoining lots exist at the time of adoption of this Chapter have a different setback than that required under this Chapter, the front yard of the new structure may be set to conform to the prevailing setback in the immediate vicinity. The Building Official shall determine the necessary setback in such cases. B. Street Frontage Required: No lot shall be …
A. Residing in accessory buildings, mobile homes, recreational vehicles, or partially completed houses is prohibited, except for a temporary period of time and only by City Council action. B. The owner of any unimproved parcel of land may place or cause to be placed, a mobile home for temporary use as a dwelling unit on said property, by securing authorization from the City Council. Without said a…
A. Standards: A substandard lot or parcel of land for which a deed has been recorded in the office of the Anoka County Recorder on or prior to the effective date of this Chapter shall be allowed as a building site provided it: 1\. Has frontage on a public right-of-way. 2\. Such use is permitted in the zoning district. 3\. The lot was in separate ownership from abutting lands upon or prior to the e…
A. Moving Permit: No buildings of any nature shall be moved into or within the City by any means without first obtaining a permit thereof. Each application to move any building shall be on a form available from the Building Official. The applicant shall furnish a recent photograph(s) of the building, which photograph(s) shall clearly show the building proposed to be moved. The City Council require…
A. The extraction or storage of any incidental process of sand, gravel, or other material from the land in the amount of one thousand (1,000) cubic yards or more and removal thereof from the site shall be considered as mining and shall be subject to the rules and regulations of the City Code. B. In all districts, the conduct of mining shall be permitted only upon securing an Interim Use Permit. Su…
A. Required: A Certificate of Occupancy shall be obtained before: 1\. Any building hereafter erected or structurally altered is occupied or used; 2\. The use of any existing building is altered or changed; 3\. Buildings or structures are moved into the City. B. Application and Issuance: 1\. Application for a Certificate of Occupancy for a new building or for an existing building which will be stru…
A. Exotic or regulated animals: It shall be unlawful for anyone to own or possess exotic or regulated animals. B. Non-Domestic Animals: 1\. Minimum of Three (3) Acres. No such animal shall be kept on any lot or parcel of land containing less than three (3) acres provided the following conditions are met: a. As many as three animal units may be kept on a lot or parcel of land containing three (3) a…
A. In all districts, the placing of vehicles, boats, trailers, fish houses, sheds, equipment, construction materials, firewood, debris of any kind, or other such items within five (5) feet of the side or rear property lines is prohibited. B. Piles of trash, construction waste, debris or brush, which may harbor rodents or other pests, or which may otherwise be considered a health or safety hazard, …
A. General Provisions: 1\. Title: This Section shall be known as the Nowthen Residential Housing Maintenance Standards Section and will be hereinafter referred to as "this section." 2\. Scope: All provisions of this section shall apply to all residential properties and structures, occupied or unoccupied, within the City, and shall constitute the minimum standards for safe and sanitary occupancy an…
A. Purpose: The purpose of this section is to create standards for outdoor lighting so that it does not interfere with the reasonable use and enjoyment of property within the City. It is the intent of this section to encourage lighting practices and systems which will reduce light pollution while increasing nighttime safety, utility, security, and productivity. This is done through regulation of t…
STORMWATER AND WETLAND MANAGEMENT A. Purpose: 1\. Land development projects and associated increases in impervious cover alter the hydrologic response of local watersheds and increase stormwater runoff rates and volumes, flooding, stream channel erosion, and sediment transport and deposition. 2\. Stormwater runoff contributes to increased quantities of water-borne pollutants. 3\. Stormwater runoff…
A. General Design Concept: Building and/or project designs shall utilize materials, colors, or details to meet the intent of these architectural standards. B. Design Elements: Projects may be required to utilize building ornamentation features, including, but not limited to: columns, arches, parapets, cornices, friezes, canopies, moldings, dentils, corbels, quoins, rustication, vaults, domes, and …
A. For the purpose of this subsection, allowed building materials shall be divided into categories as follows: 1\. Grade A: a. Brick or custom masonry units (CMU) having a brick-like appearance. (Ordinance 2019-02, Adopted July 9, 2019) b. Natural or artificial stone. C. Glass. 2\. Grade B: a. Integral color specialty concrete block such as textured, burnished block or rock faced block. b. Integra…
A. Floor Area: The term "floor area" for the purpose of calculating the number of off- street parking spaces required shall be determined on the basis of the exterior floor area dimensions of the buildings, structures or use times the number of floors, minus ten (10) percent, except as may hereinafter be provided or modified. B. Reduction of Existing Off-Street Parking Space or Lot Area: Off-stree…
A. Parking Stall Size: Except for disability accessible parking stalls, each parking stall shall not be less than nine (9) feet wide and twenty (20) feet in length (exclusive of access aisles) and each stall shall be served adequately by access aisles. B. Street Access: 1\. All off-street parking facilities shall be designed and constructed with appropriate means of vehicular access to a public st…
A. Findings: The City Council hereby finds as follows: 1\. Exterior signs have a substantial impact on the character and quality of the environment. 2\. Signs provide an important medium through which individuals may convey a variety of messages. 3\. Signs can create traffic hazards, aesthetic concerns and detriments to property values, thereby threatening the public health, safety and welfare. 4\…
A. Permit Required. No sign shall be erected or existing sign structure expanded without first securing a permit from the City, except when changing only the face of the sign without altering the area, height or location of the sign: 1\. The content of the message or speech displayed on the sign shall not be reviewed or considered in determining whether to approve or deny a sign permit. 2\. Applic…
A. No signs, other than those of governmental jurisdictions, shall be permitted within public right-of-way or roadway easements. B. No sign or sign structure, unless otherwise regulated by this Section, shall be closer to any lot line than ten (10) feet. C. No sign shall be placed within any drainage or utility easement. D. No sign shall be attached or be allowed to hang from any building until al…
A. Within the C-1 District the following additional regulations shall apply: 1\. Freestanding Sign: a. One (1) sign is allowed per lot. b. The area of a freestanding sign may not exceed eighty (80) square feet each side. C. The maximum height of the sign shall be thirty-five (35) feet. 2\. Wall, Canopy, or Marquee Sign: a. For single occupancy buildings, wall, canopy, or marquee sign(s) shall be p…
A. Any sign, signal, marking or device which purports to be or is an imitation of or resembles any official traffic control device or railroad sign or signal, or emergency vehicle signs, or which attempts to direct the movement of traffic or which hides from view or interferes with the effectiveness of any official traffic control device or any railroad sign or signal. B All signs over four hundre…
A. It shall be unlawful for any person, or corporation to erect, construct in place, place or re-erect, or replace any tower without first making application to the City and securing an interim use permit therefore as hereinafter provided. B. The applicant shall provide at the time of application sufficient information to indicate that construction, installation, and maintenance of the antenna and…
A. Towers shall not be illuminated by artificial means and shall not display strobe lights unless such lighting is specifically required by the Federal Aviation Administration or other federal or state authority for a particular tower. B. Notwithstanding this provision, the City Council may, in its sole discretion, approve the placement of an antenna on existing or proposed lighting provided that …
A. All abandoned or unused towers and associated facilities shall be removed within 12 months of the cessation of operations at the site unless a time extension is approved by the City Council. A copy of the relevant portions of a signed lease, easement, or other conveying instrument which requires the applicant to remove the tower and associated facilities upon cessation of operations at the site…
A. Location and Height 1\. Accessory Use: Installation of one (1) WECS that does not exceed 45 feet in height may be allowed as a permitted accessory use in all zoning districts upon property that is a minimum of 2 1/2 acres in size subject to approval by the Zoning Administrator and approval of a building permit by the Building Official. 2\. Interim Use: Installation of one (1) or more WECS up to…
A. Ground Source or Geothermal Heat Pump Systems 1\. Ground source heat pump systems shall be allowed as a permitted accessory use in all zoning districts in accordance with State of Minnesota standards and manufacturers guidelines. B. Solar Energy Systems 1\. Solar energy systems shall be allowed as a permitted accessory use in all zoning districts in accordance with State of Minnesota standards …
A. The purpose of this section is to provide the City with a reasonable degree of discretion in determining the suitability of certain designated uses upon the general welfare, public health and safety. A conditional use is a use which, because of certain characteristics, cannot be properly classified as a permitted use in the zoning district with which it is proposed. An interim use is a temporar…
A. Application: 1\. The procedures outlined in this section of the ordinance shall apply to all conditional or interim use permits. 2\. All applications for zoning actions to be reviewed by the Planning & Zoning Commission and acted upon by the City Council shall be submitted to the City Clerk, who shall determine if sufficient information has been submitted with the application to meet the requir…
A. In granting a conditional use permit or interim use permit, the City Council shall consider the advice and recommendations of the Planning & Zoning Commission on the effect of the proposed use upon the health, safety, morals, and general welfare of occupants of surrounding lands, existing and anticipated traffic conditions, including parking facilities, and the effect on values of property in t…
A. Any change involving structural alterations, enlargement, intensification of use, or similar change not specifically permitted by the conditional use or the interim use permit issued shall require an amended conditional use or interim use permit. Said permit will be processed in the same manner as a new application. B. The Clerk shall maintain a record of all conditional use permits and interim…
A. The City Council may hold a public hearing to revoke a conditional use upon the happening of any of the following events, whichever occurs first: 1\. Upon violation of conditions under which the permit was issued; 2\. The use or operation is discontinued for a period of one (1) year; 3\. If no other time is specified in the Conditional Use Permit, a conditional use approved by the City Council …
A. Responsibility: 1\. In accordance with Minnesota Statutes 462.351 to 462.364, the City Council shall serve as the Board of Adjustment. 2\. The Board of Adjustment shall hold meetings, keep minutes, and pursuant to notice, shall conduct hearings, take testimony under oath, and render decisions in writing within forty-five (45) days after the hearing or continued hearing. 3\. A fee shall be charg…
A. Purpose: The purpose of this section is to provide the City with an opportunity for amelioration or unnecessary hardships resulting from the rigid enforcement of its broad Zoning Ordinance. This variance provision authorizes the City Council to permit a particular property to be used in a manner not allowed for by the Ordinance by varying the terms of this Chapter. B. Limitation of Use: The Cit…
A. Application: An amendment to the text of the Chapter, or the Official Zoning Map, may be initiated by the City Council, Planning & Zoning Commission, or by application of a property owner. Individuals wishing to initiate an amendment to the Zoning Ordinance shall fill out an application and submit it to the City Clerk, together with a fee, as set forth by Section 1-2-2 of the City Code. B. Publ…