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CASE <br /> <br />REVIEW-OF CITY CODE REGULATIONS FOR ACCESSORY STRUCTURES <br /> By: Zoning Administrator Sylvia Frolik <br /> <br />Background: <br /> <br />At your October meeting, we discussed the fact that the method used for determining minimum lot <br />area when platting (with road right-of-way) conflicts with the method used in determining lot area <br />for code enforcement purposes (without road right-of-way). At that time, the Commission <br />recommendegl some definition changes in City Code to eliminate the ability to use of road fight-of- <br />way to meet minimum lot area requirements when platting. <br /> <br />We also discussed one of the problems that has arisen from allowing developers to include road <br />right-of-way ;in meeting minimum lot sizes when property is platted. Many home buyers thought <br />that they were getting a 2.5 acre lot when they bought into the "2.5 acre subdivision", when in fact <br />many of the [ors are something less than 2.5 acres. The threshold for having a pole building is 2.5 <br />acres. The impact of this is that some of the lots in a "2.5 acre subdivision" will qualify for pole <br />buildings and some will not. The Commission direction was that I place a case on this agenda to <br />review our current regulations for accessory structures for the purpose of determining if any <br />amendments to it are appropriate at this time. <br /> <br />Enclosed for,your information and review is a copy of the current code regulations for accessory <br />structures. <br /> <br />Observations: <br /> <br />A first thought might be to reduce the threshold for pole buildings from something less than 2.5 <br />acres to something more than 2.0 so that all residents in "2.5 acre subdivisions" are treated <br />equitably. Tile following is a summary of the minimum acreage requirement for pole buildings in <br />some of the surrounding communities: <br /> <br />Community Threshold for Pole Buildings <br /> <br />Special Notes <br /> <br />Andover 3 acres <br /> <br />Elk River 5 acres <br /> <br />300' setback from neighboring residences <br />or platted areas. <br /> <br />Champlin <br /> <br />Residential/Agriculture <br />zoned areas only <br /> <br />Pole building cannot exceed size of home on <br />parcels less than 10 acres in size <br /> <br />Ham Lake 5 acres <br /> <br />Recommendation: <br /> <br />Of the surrounding communities, Ramsey already has one of the most lenient acreage thresholds <br />for pole buildings. I recommend that there be no reduction of the acreage threshold for pole <br />buildings. Ekcept for some isolated cases, as evidenced by the numbers of applications for <br />conditional use permits for accessory structures larger than code allows, I believe the size <br />allowances currently established are adequate. The language that establishes the standards for <br />building designs and exterior facing finish could be amended for clarification purposes. The table <br />working out the formula for graduating accessory structure size limits based on parcel size is <br /> <br /> <br />