Agenda - Council - 01/12/1993 - Laserfiche WebLink

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CASE REVIEW ()F CITY CODE REGULATIONS FOR ACCESSORY STRUCTURES By: Zoning Administrator Sylvia Frolik Background: In December, we discussed the fact that the method used for achieving minimum lot area when platting in the rural districts includes the road right-of-way and this conflicts with the method used ~n determining lot area for code enforcement purposes, which is without road right-of-way. This discussion was precipitated by a proposed ordinance introduced at your last meeting, which among other things, includes a definition change that will no longer allow developers in the rural area the option to include road right-of-way to meet the minimum lot size requirements. The reason I am proposing to eliminate this inconsistency betw. een how minimum lot area is determined at the platting stage versus the code enforcement stage is that many home buyers assumed they were getting a 2.5 acre lot when they bought into the "2,5 acre subdivision". However, many of the lots are something tess than 2.5 acres because the area required for road right-of-way was not deducted when the number of eligible lots from the acreage available was calculated. One of the impacts of this is that some of the lots in a "2.5 acre subdivision" will qualify for metal buildings and some will not. (The threshold for having a metal accessory building is 2.5 acres.) At the last Council meeting, some of the councilmembers expressed concern that staff's interpretation of lot size for code enforcement purposes is not fair to the homebuyer of a 'so-called' 2.5 acre property. To the best of my recollection, one of the reasons the threshold for metal accessory structures was set at 2.5 acres was that 2.5 acre subdivisions were more appropriate from a density standpoint than 1 acre subdivisions for metal accessory structures. I should note that the Planning Commission has also been apprised of this situation and looked at reducing the threshold for having a metal accessory structure. Upon reviewing the minimum requirements in other cities, the Planning Commission determined that Ramsey is more than lenient at 2:5 acres and chose not to pursue lowering the minimum acreage requirement for metal buildings. The following is a summary, of the minimum acreage requirement for metal buildings in some of the surrounding communities: Communiw Threshold for Metal Buildings Special Notes Andover 3 acres Elk River 5 acres 300' setback from neighboring residences or platted areas. Champlin Residential/A gndculture zoned areas only Pole building cannot exceed size of home on parcels less than 10 acres in size Ham Lake 5 acres