Agenda - Council - 02/10/1981 - Laserfiche WebLink

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SECTION IV: Model Zoning Ordinance to Protect Productive Agricultural Lands A. INTRODUCTION The agricultural technical advisory committee with the assistance of the Metropolitan Council staff has drafted a model exclusive agricultural use zoning ordinance which is intended to maintain agricultural uses and regulate urban encroachment into productive agricultural areas. Many of the concepts in the ordinance were suggested by existing Minnesota zoning ordinances, most notably those of Carver and Goodhue Counties. The model ordinance can be adopted in whole or in part by a county or township, or used as a model for zoning provisions that meet specific local needs. The standards in this model ordinance are suggestions only; local units of government are encouraged to tailor the standards to the local situation. Some possible areas of adjustment are mentioned in the following summary. Sections I, II, and III of the ordinance are self-explanatory and incorporate the new ordi- nance provisions into the local government's existing zoning code. Section IV establishes an agriculture preservation district, abbreviated AgP-1, which is shown in figure 8 on pages 36 and 37 of the Handbook. The intent of this district is to main- tain the productive agricultural capability of the district and protect it from encroachment by. non-agricultural uses of the land. This zoning district is intended for use in areas planned for long-term agriculture, as described in Section 1 of the Agricultural Planning Handbook. Within this district, all farming uses and farm-related structures are permitted. A second farmhouse for occupancy by a relative or employee of the farm owner is a conditional use. The conditions are that the second farmhouse be built on a separate lot, have direct access to a public road, and be a reasonable distance from the farm buildings. These conditions are to insure that when the relative or employee no longer occupies the house, it can be sold as a'separate parcel, and the new occupant will be sufficiently separated from the farm operation so as to not interfere with it. The central feature of the AgP-1 district is that nonfarm development is strictly regulated. Nonfarm residential use is regula[ed by a density factor. The factor recommended is one residential unit per quarter of a quarter section, or approximately forty acres. (The "quarter- quarter section" terminology is used so that true quarter-quarter sections that are only thirty-eight or thirty-nine acres in size because of road rights of way, land survey adjust- ments, or similar circumstances beyond the owner's control are not excluded from the entitlement.) Each quarter-quarter section is eligible for one nonfarm residential unit as long as it fronts on a public road and meets minimum lot size and setback requirements. The residential unit would, of course, have to meet other applicable requirements such as septic tank, regulations. The recommended minimum lot size for a nonfarm residential unit is one acre, or as much area as is needed to meet proper sewage system requirements. The lot size is purposely kept small in order to minimize the amount of land taken out of agricultural production. Another requirement that the local government may consider adding would be that the nonfarm residential unit must be sited on land that is not gen- erally suited to agricultural use or has not been utilized as cultivated land for a specified period of years. The ordinance limits the number of nonfarm residential units to one per quarter-quarter section fronting on a public road. If there is already a residential unit on a particular quarter-quarter section, that parcel is ineligible as a future building site.