Ramsey Resident - 2009 - March/April

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Development ~ City to Consider Revisions to the Home Occupation Permit Requirements Currently, home occupation regulations are divided into 3 catego- rl e s : 1) City Code does not require a Home Occupation Permit for low profile types of home busi- nesses that are conducted en- tirely by residents living in the home utilizing computer, mail, phone, and delivery service. 2) The second category is Princi- pal Dwelling Home Occupa- tion, which requires a permit. This type of home business is conducted by only the residents of the home in an area not to exceed 20% of the floor area of the home, and does not in- clude any attached or detached garages or accessory buildings. This type of permit will allow the permittee to invite clients and customers to the home. 3) The third category is Acces- sory Structure Home Occupa- tions, which also requires a Permit. This category provides the opportunity for owners of parcels at least three acres in size to have a home business in garages or accessory build- ings. This category also has provisions for employees that do not live in the home on the property. The number of non- resident employees allowed ranges from one to three, based on parcel size. In an effort to produce a more hospitable environment for small businesses, the Council has expressed a desire to simplify the permitting procedures and eliminate the 3-acre parcel size threshold for businesses proposed to be conducted in garages or accessory buildings. Currently, applications for home occupation permits are subject to a public hearing conducted by the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission mal(es a recommenda- tion to City Council to approve or deny the application. In the proposed ordinance amendment, city staff may adminis- tratively issue a Home Occupation Permit to those applicants who meet all of the established criteria for a home business. Any application that does not meet all of the criteria would be subject to a public hearing and review by Plan- ning Commission and City Council. In addition, the proposed ordi- nance would eliminate the three-acre requirement for employing persons that do not reside in the home. Proposed amendments would allow the business to employ one non-resident employee on parcels less than three acres in size and two non-resident employees on parcels larger than three acres in size. A public hearing will be held regarding the proposed ordinance amendment at the regular Planning Commission meeting on Thursday, April 3, 2008 at 7:00 pm. Staffantici- pates having a draft ordinance avail- able for review by mid-March. Please contact the JoAnn Shaw, Community Development Department Secretary, Planning Division at 763-433-9824 or jshaw@ci.ramsey.mn.us, for more information. City Council Adopts Revisions to Sign Code The City Council adopted the revised Sign Ordinance on February 12. This ordinance will be published for public comment for 30 days after Council adoption, and the ordinance will subsequently become effective in March. The purpose of the ordinance is to change the sign regulations to be in compliance with the legal opinion forwarded by the courts which considers content-based and owner-specified regulation of signs a violation of the 1 st Amendment of the u.S. Constitution. Therefore, any references to sign definitions that rely on the sign's message or owner have been eliminated, including real estate, garage sale, or construction signs, signs erected by non-profits or governments, public event signs, and business signs. Once effective, this ordinance will standardize the regula- tions for all temporary signs, regard- less of their message or owner. The sign ordinance has been revised to eliminate all permits and fee requirements for temporary signs. Other minor changes have been imple- mented as well, and city staff encour- ages any businesses or residents who utilize temporary signs to obtain a copy of the new Sign Ordinance. The ordinance is available on the city's website at www.ci.ramsey. mn. us/ departments/ Communi ty /II. asp, clicl( on Sign Regulations (9.12), or by contacting JoAnn Shaw, Community Development Department Secretary, Planning Division, at 763-433-9824 or j shaw@ci.ramsey.mn.us. 4 www.ci.ramsey.mn.us