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Before the bulldozers...
<br />How the City regulates development
<br />
<br /> Minnelonka -- home to approximalely 40,000 people; a city of trees, hills, and marshlands;
<br />adjacent to Lake Minnetonka and lwenty minutes from downtown Minneapolis; location of
<br />Ridgedale and lhe nationally recognized Opus 2 development
<br />
<br /> With a population growth of almost 100
<br />percent since 1960, and a slmilar increase
<br />in employment opportunities over the last
<br />decade, our community is clearly a rapidly
<br />developing suburb. With this development
<br />comes a plethora of residential, commer-
<br />cial, and industrial buildings and their atten-
<br />danl roadways and support facilities, seem-
<br />ingly springing up overnight. While devel-
<br />opment may occasionally appear uncon-
<br />trolled, the City's rigorous planning process
<br />does regulate the type, magnitude, and
<br />cluallty of development. This adicle ad-
<br />dresses both the main components of
<br />planning and explains, with emphasis on
<br />t he~[~ of City staff, the va riou s steps of the
<br />pr~ which occur "before the bull-
<br />
<br /> pLANNING COMPONENTS
<br /> The two major "tsols" of planning are the
<br />Comprehensive Guide Plan and the Zoning
<br />Ordinance. The Comprehensive Plan is a
<br />document consisting of data, policy state-
<br />ments, and maps which is intended to
<br />guide the future development or redevel-
<br />opment of the City. It addresses the future
<br />location and magnitude of needed com-
<br />munity facilities (parks, utilities, etc.), hous-
<br />ing opportunities (single and multiple fam-
<br />ily), transportation systems (essentially
<br />roadway improvements), and land uses
<br />(residential, commercial, and industrial) in
<br />an effort to provide all citizens with ade-
<br />quate_.~opportunities to live, work, shop, and
<br />plaS desirable environment. It is based
<br />upo~ needs of the entire community.
<br /> The Zoning Ordinance is acom pilation of
<br />locally adopted laws which regulate to what
<br />uses any property may be put and the
<br />development standards which must be met
<br />in utilizing the land (building height, bulk,
<br />end setback from properly lines are exam-
<br />ples of these standards). All land in the City
<br />is zoned into one of a number of reside~ntial,
<br />commercial, or industrial districts whic~
<br />thereby allow and control certain types of
<br />devetopmenL The most prevalent zoning
<br />category is R-l, Single Family Residential
<br />District, which allows the construction of
<br />single family homes as well as some
<br />'special uses' such as home occupations,
<br />schools, and churches, which require City
<br />Council approval. The majority of undevel-
<br />oped land in the City is currently zoned R-1.
<br /> The difference between the Guide Plan
<br />and the Zoning Ordinance is best exempli-
<br />tied by the last statement--that most
<br />undeveloped land is currently zoned R-1. A
<br />vacant parcel of land which is shown on the
<br />Guide Plan for commercial development la
<br />most p~obably zoned R-1. This zoning is,
<br />9ssentially, a holding category, and the
<br />~)roperty will, at some future lime, be re-
<br />
<br />zoned to the appropriate commercial die-
<br />trict based on the use proposed. The
<br />reason the City does not 'pre-zone' land as
<br />guided by the Comprehensive Plan is two-
<br />fold. As there is a variety of zoning classes
<br />allowing, for example, a commercial use,
<br />the zoning district might not allow the ulti-
<br />mately proposed use. The City has greater
<br />legal controls over a use through a re-
<br />zoning. Therefore, in order to determine to
<br />what use a property can and may be put, it
<br />is imperative to review both the zoning map
<br />and the Comprehensive Plan.
<br /> The three major City participants in-
<br />volved in the planning process are the
<br />Planning Department, Planning Commis-
<br />sion, and City Council. The Planning De-
<br />partment is a group of professional and
<br />clerical City employees experienced in
<br />such planning topics as housing, transpor-
<br />tation, landscape architecture, and land
<br />use, whose function is to advise, adminis-
<br />ter, and make recommendations concern-
<br />ing the planning process generally and the
<br />Guide Plan and Zoning Ordinance in per-
<br />ticular. The Planning Commission is a body
<br />of seven citizens, appointed by the Mayor
<br />and confirmed by the City Council, whose
<br />function is to make recommendations to
<br />the City Council regarding planning prob-
<br />lems and decision& The City Council con-
<br />sists of seven elected officials who have the
<br />ultimate authority to decide planning
<br />issues.
<br />
<br />TYPES OF DEVELOPMENT
<br /> While all citizens are affected by the
<br />planning process, proposed development
<br />on adjacent property is generally the main
<br />mason specific citizens become involved.
<br />Development occurs through five spec]ftc
<br />procedures~
<br />· Lot Division-- a division of one parcel of
<br /> land into two pieces
<br />· Subdivision - a division of one percel into
<br /> three or more parcels usually including
<br /> construction of a new street
<br />· Conditional Use Permit -- a request to
<br /> utilize properly for a special use autho-
<br /> rized by the Zoning Ordinance (all
<br /> churches require conditional use per-
<br /> mits, for example)
<br />· Rezoning -- a request to change the
<br /> zoning on a pamel to utilize the property
<br /> in a different manner from that currently
<br /> allowed by the Zoning Ordinance
<br />· Site Plan Review -- a request for ap-
<br /> proval of specific building plans fo allow
<br /> construction and utilization of a pamel
<br /> for a use allowed by ordinance (single
<br /> family homes are exempt)
<br />
<br /> THE pLANNING PROCESS
<br /> The process for any of the requests
<br /> listed follows essentially the same steps;
<br /> 1. Decision to Develop: The property owner
<br /> (many times in conjunction with a
<br /> 'develope~ decides to utilize his land in
<br /> a manner other than its current use. This
<br /> decision will be made for a variety of
<br /> personal or economic reasons, including
<br /> the inability to maintain a large home-
<br /> stead (as is the case with many of our
<br /> older citizens); substantial sewer and
<br /> water assessments; development of
<br /> adjacent properties; or desire to realize
<br /> the previous investment and full poten-
<br /> tial of the property. As such then, the
<br /> real catalyst for development is the indi-
<br /> vidual property owner, without whose
<br /> consent development will not occur.
<br /> 2. Development Adviso[y Meetings: The
<br /> owner/developer arranges a meeting
<br /> with the Planning Depertment to dis-
<br /> cuss to what use the property may be
<br /> pub The Staff reviews the administrative
<br /> process, the Zoning Ordinance, the
<br /> Guide Plan, and the specifics of both the
<br /> site and surrounding area (topography,
<br /> tree cover, access, adjacent buildings,
<br /> etc.). These meetings result in one of
<br /> three scenarios;
<br /> a) The proposal is relatively simple and
<br /> complies with applicable ordinance
<br /> requirements, in which case Staff
<br /> recommends that the owner submit
<br /> an official application;
<br /> b) The proposal is contrary to the Zon-
<br /> ing Ordinance and/or Guide Plan
<br /> and would not receive Staff support,
<br /> in which case the proposal is usually
<br /> dropped as a result of the Staff
<br /> comments;
<br /> c) The general proposal seems to com-
<br /> ply with planning parameters, in
<br /> which case Staff recommends that
<br /> the proposal be refined, addition~
<br /> details such as building design and
<br /> landscaping be developed, and the
<br /> developer return with the additional
<br /> information for further discussion.
<br /> The last procedure is the most frequently
<br /> followed especially in the cases of
<br /> 'major' subdivisions and all rezonings.
<br /> These additional meetings have num-
<br /> bered up to 20 and terminate only when
<br /> Staff feels a proposal has met City
<br /> planning parameters and merits Staff
<br /> support. At the conclusion of these d'~-
<br /> cussions, an Official application is made.
<br />3. OfficialApplication: An official appi'~a-
<br /> tion is usually only made after contact
<br /> with the Staff and after Staff has ind't.
<br /> cared that the general proposal com-
<br /> plies with City planning criteria. Fo~'
<br /> each official application processed, ap-
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