1. Enforcing Officer:
   1. The Community Development Director or their designee is the zoning administrator.
   2. The zoning administrator enforces this Title and is responsible for the following functions:
      1. Review all matters pertaining to applications and enforcement of this Title.
      2. Review building permits to ensure for proper zoning and approve other permits, and make and maintain records thereof.
      3. Conduct inspections of buildings and use of land to determine compliance with this chapter.
      4. Maintain permanent and current records of this chapter, including but not limited to: all maps, amendments, conditional uses, variances, appeals, and applications thereof.
      5. Receive, file, and forward all applications for appeals, variances, conditional uses or other matters to the designated official bodies.
      6. Notify in writing persons responsible for violations, indicating the nature of the violation and the action necessary to correct it.
      7. Institute, in the name of the city, any appropriate actions or proceedings against a violator as provided in this chapter.
2. Certificate Of Occupancy:
   1. Certificate Of Occupancy Required: No building or structure hereafter erected or moved, or that portion of an existing structure or building erected or moved will be occupied or used in whole or in part for any purpose whatsoever until a certificate of occupancy shall have been issued by the building official stating that the building or structure complies with this title and applicable state building code sections.
   2. Application: The certificate of occupancy shall be applied for coincident with the application for a building permit, conditional use permit and/or variance, and shall be issued within ten (10) days after the building official finds the building or structure satisfactory and passed final inspection. The application shall be accompanied by a fee as established by city council ordinance.
3. C. Filing With County Recorder: A certified copy of approved conditional use permits, interim use permits, planned unit development agreements, and variances shall be filed with the County Recorder or Registrar of Titles.
4. Fees: The fees required for processing applications and appeals shall be as established by the City Council from time to time. In addition, the applicant shall be required to reimburse the City for all out of pocket expenses the City incurs in having consultants and its attorneys review the application. The City may require a deposit on the anticipated costs before processing the application.
5. Certification Of Taxes Paid
   1. Prior to the City processing or approving any land use, zoning application, or permit under the City's official controls, the applicant shall provide to the City written certification that the following statements are true for the property for which the application relates:
      1. There are no delinquent Property Taxes, special assessments, interest, or City utility fees due; and
      2. There are no unpaid City inspections fees; and
      3. There are no unpaid City rental license fees; and
      4. There are no unpaid City reinspection fees.
   2. No applications or permits shall be processed until outstanding amounts are paid in full.
   3. Property Taxes which are being paid under the provisions of a stipulation, order, or confession of judgment, or which are being appealed as provided by law, are not considered delinquent for purposes of this section provided all required payments that are due under the terms of the stipulation, order, confession of judgment, or appeal have been paid.
6. Application Submittal Requirements: Applications shall include materials sufficient to evaluate compliance with this Title, including but not limited to:
   1. Application forms, fees, and proof of ownership;
   2. Project narrative and applicant contact information;
   3. Surveys, plats, and legal descriptions, as applicable;
   4. Site plans showing existing and proposed conditions;
   5. Engineering plans, including grading, drainage, stormwater, and utilities;
   6. Architectural plans, including building elevations and materials;
   7. Landscaping, lighting, and signage plans;
   8. Supporting studies and documentation as required by the City, including traffic, environmental, noise, wetland, and floodplain analyses; and
   9. Additional materials determined necessary by City staff to adequately review and evaluate compliance with this Title.
7. Development Review Committee:
   1. Establishment and Membership: The Development Review Committee (DRC) is hereby established as a technical conformance review body. The DRC shall consist of City staff or their designees, as determined by the Community Development Director and may include, but is not limited to, representatives from Planning, Public Works, Engineering, Building Inspections, Fire, Police/Crime Prevention, Economic Development, and Parks and Natural Resources.
   2. Purpose and Duties. The DRC shall serve as an interdepartmental staff review team and shall:
      1. Review development applications for technical compliance with this Title and other applicable City codes, standards, and policies;
      2. Coordinate and consolidate departmental review comments;
      3. Identify deficiencies and recommend revisions necessary for compliance; and
      4. Provide technical recommendations and reports to the Planning Commission and City Council, as applicable.
   3. Authority and Limitations. The DRC is advisory in nature and shall not have independent authority to approve or deny applications.
      

The City shall hold a public hearing on all variances, conditional use permits, text amendments, map amendments and interim use permits. Notice of the public hearing shall be given not less than ten (10) days prior to the date of the hearing by publication in the designated legal newspaper of the City. The notice shall contain the date, time and place of the hearing and a description of the land and the proposed application. At least ten (10) days before the hearing, the City Clerk or designee shall mail a notice to the owner and to each of the property owners within a minimum of three hundred fifty feet (350') of the property for which the approval is sought. Failure to mail the notice or failure of the property owners to receive the notice shall not invalidate the proceedings.

1. Purpose: The purpose of the variance is to allow variation from the strict application of the terms of this Title where, by reason of the exceptional physical characteristics of the property, the literal enforcement of the requirements of this Title would cause practical difficulties for the landowner.
2. General Provisions: In no case may a variance be granted to permit a use other than a use permitted in the zoning district. Nonconforming uses, land, structures, or buildings in the same district or other districts may not be considered grounds for issuance of a variance.
3. Procedure: The procedures for applying for a variance from this chapter are as follows:
   1. The property owner or his agent shall meet with the zoning administrator to describe the situation and to be advised of the procedures and obtain an application form.
   2. The applicant shall file the completed application form together with the required exhibits and shall pay a filing fee as established by ordinance.
   3. The city shall hold a public hearing on the application pursuant to City Code Section 10-2-2.
   4. The zoning administrator shall submit the application to the planning commission for its review, comment, and recommendation to the city council.
   5. The city council shall, after receipt of the report from the planning commission, either approve or deny the application pursuant to Minnesota Statutes 15.99.
   6. The city council may impose such restrictions or conditions as may be necessary that are directly related to and bear a rough proportionality to the impact created by the variance.
4. Required application information and materials: The following information and materials shall be required for the application:
   1. A complete application form signed by all property owners.
   2. All required fees and escrows.
   3. The legal description of the property and the common address.
   4. A description of the variance requested and a statement demonstrating that the variance would conform to the requirements necessary for approval.
   5. Any maps, drawings, and plans that the zoning administrator considers to be of value in considering the application.
5. Findings: A variance may be granted only when all of the following conditions are found:
   1. The variance is in harmony with the general purposes and intent of this Title.
   2. The variance is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan.
   3. The applicant for the variance establishes that there are practical difficulties in complying with this Title. “Practical difficulties,” as used in connection with the granting of a variance, means that all of the following must be found to apply:
      1. The property owner proposes to use the land in a reasonable manner for a use permitted in the zone where the land is located, but the proposal is not permitted by other official controls;
      2. The plight of the landowner is due to circumstances unique to the property and that are not created by the landowner; and
      3. The variance, if granted, will not alter the essential character of the neighborhood.
   4. Economic considerations alone do not constitute practical difficulties.
6. Precedent: A previous variance must not be considered to have set a precedent for the granting of further variances. Each application must be considered on its own merit.
7. Reapplication: No application which has been denied wholly or in part shall be reconsidered for a period of six (6) months from the date of the order of denial, except on the grounds of new evidence or proof of change of conditions.
8. Expiration: In any case where a variance approval does not proceed within one (1) year of the date on which the variance was granted, the variance approval shall become void unless a petition for extension is requested in writing and filed with the zoning administrator. The extension request shall be sent to the city council for review and decision.
   

1. Application, Public Hearing, Notice And Procedure: The application, public hearing, public notice and procedure requirements for conditional use permits will be the same as those for amendments as provided in Section 10-2-2 of this chapter, except that the permit will be issued on the affirmative vote of a majority of the entire council.
2. Standards: The planning commission recommends conditional use permits and the council issues such conditional use permits only if it finds that such use at the proposed location:
   1. Will not be detrimental to or endanger the public health, safety, comfort, convenience or general welfare of the neighborhood or the city.
   2. Will be harmonious with the general and applicable specific objectives of the city's comprehensive plan and this title.
   3. Will be designed, constructed, operated and maintained so to be compatible in appearance with the existing or intended character of the general vicinity and will not change the essential character of that area.
   4. Will not be hazardous or disturbing to existing or future neighboring uses.
   5. Will be served adequately by essential public facilities and services, including streets, police and fire protection, drainage structures, refuse disposal, water and sewer systems and schools; or will be served adequately by such facilities and services provided by the persons or agencies responsible for the establishment of the proposed use.
   6. Will not create excessive additional requirements at public cost for public facilities and services and will not be detrimental to the economic welfare of the community.
   7. Will not involve uses, activities, processes, materials, equipment and conditions of operation that will be detrimental to any persons, property or the general welfare because of excessive production of traffic, noise, smoke, fumes, glare or odors.
   8. Will have vehicular approaches to the property which do not create traffic congestion or interfere with traffic on surrounding public thoroughfares.
   9. Will not result in the destruction, loss or damage of a natural, scenic or historic feature of major importance.
   10. Will not depreciate surrounding property values.
3. Conditions: In reviewing applications for conditional use permits, the planning commission and the council may attach whatever reasonable conditions they deem necessary to mitigate anticipated adverse impacts associated with these uses, to protect the value of other property within the district, and to achieve the goals and objectives of the comprehensive plan. Such conditions may include, but are not limited to, the following:
   1. Controlling the number, area, bulk, height and location of such uses.
   2. Regulating ingress and egress to the property and the proposed structures thereon with particular reference to vehicle and pedestrian safety and convenience, traffic flow and control, and access in case of fire or other catastrophe.
   3. Regulating off street parking and loading areas where required.
   4. Utilities with reference to location availability and compatibility.
   5. Berming, fencing, screening, landscaping or other facilities to protect nearby property.
   6. Compatibility of appearance.
   7. Regulating hours and dates of operation.
      In determining such conditions, special consideration is given to protecting immediately adjacent properties from objectionable views, noise, traffic and other negative characteristics associated with such uses.
4. Denial For Noncompliance: If the Planning Commission recommends denial of a conditional use permit or the Council orders such denial, it will include in its recommendation or determination findings as to the ways in which the proposed use does not comply with the standards required by this title.
5. Permittee: A conditional use permit will be issued for a particular use and not for a particular person.
6. Periodic Review: A periodic review of the use may be attached as a condition of approval of a conditional use permit.
7. Revocation: Failure to comply with any condition set forth in a conditional use permit, or any other violation of this title, will be a misdemeanor and constitute sufficient cause for the termination of the conditional use permit by the City Council following a public hearing.
8. Expiration: If substantial construction has not taken place within one year of the date on which the conditional use permit was granted, the permit is void except that, on application, the Council, after receiving recommendation from the Planning Commission, may extend the permit for such additional period as it deems appropriate. If the conditional use is discontinued for six (6) months, the conditional use permit is void. This provision applies to conditional use permits issued prior to the effective date of this title, but the six (6) month period is not deemed to commence until the effective date of this title.
9. Minor Alterations: Any minor extensions, alterations or modifications of existing buildings or structures may be authorized by the Development Review Committee (DRC) if they are consistent with the purposes and intent of the approved CUP and as provided below:
   1. No change may increase the footprint of any building or structure by more than thirty percent (30%).
   2. Changes to building exteriors and building materials, construction of accessory trash enclosures and sheds, changes to signage, lighting, parking, landscaping and adding sidewalks/trails or altering their alignment are permitted to the extent there are no specific conditions in the approving CUP documents and any such changes are in compliance with this title.
   3. Any other changes to the CUP must be authorized by an amendment to the CUP pursuant to the public hearing process outlined in City Code Section 10-5-6 of this title.
      

1. Purpose: The purpose and intent of allowing interim uses is:
   1. To allow a use for a limited period of time that reasonably utilizes the property where it is not reasonable to utilize it in the manner provided in the comprehensive guide.
   2. to allow a use that is presently acceptable but that, with anticipated development, will not be acceptable in the future.
2. Application, Public Hearing, Notice And Procedure: The application, public hearing, public notice and procedure requirements for interim use permits will be the same as those for zoning amendments as provided in Section 10-2-2 of this chapter.
3. Standards: The Planning Commission recommends interim use permits and the Council issues such interim use permits only if it finds that such use at the proposed location:
   1. Meets the standards of a conditional use permit set forth in Section 10-2-4 of this chapter.
   2. Conforms to the zoning regulations, performance standards and other requirements.
   3. Is allowed as an interim use in the zoning district.
   4. Will terminate upon a date or event that can be identified with certainty.
   5. Will not impose, by agreement, additional costs on the public if it is necessary for the public to take the property in the future.
   6. Will be subjected to, by agreement with the owner, any conditions that the City Council has deemed appropriate for permission of the use, including a condition that the owner will provide an appropriate financial surety to cover the cost of removing the interim use and any interim structures upon the expiration of the interim use permit.
4. Termination: An interim use permit terminates upon the occurrence of any of the following events; whichever first occurs:
   1. The date stated in the permit; or
   2. A violation of conditions under which the permit was issued; or
   3. A change in the City's zoning regulations which renders the use nonconforming.
      

1. Generally: The City Council may adopt amendments to this Title and the zoning map in relation both to land uses within a particular district or to the location of the district line. Such amendments are not be issued indiscriminately but used as a means to reflect changes in the goals and policies of the City as reflected in the Comprehensive Plan. Amendments must be adopted by a majority vote of the City Council. The adoption or amendment of any portion of a Zoning Code which changes all or part of the existing classification of a zoning district from residential to either a commercial or an industrial district requires a two-thirds majority vote of the City Council. There are the following kinds of amendments:
   1. A change in a district’s boundary (rezoning).
   2. A change in a district’s regulations.
   3. A change in any other provisions of this Chapter.
2. Initiation: Amendments of this title may be initiated by:
   1. A petition of the owner or owners of the property, the zoning of which is proposed to be changed.
   2. By action of the community development department.
   3. By action of the City Council.
3. Application: Except for minor amendments for which information requirements shall be established by the city planner, amendments initiated by the petition of property owners shall be filed in the planning department and include the following information:
   1. A generalized location map showing the location of the proposed site in relation to the city.
   2. A scale plot plan, with north indicated, of the proposed site showing all site dimensions.
   3. All types of proposed uses.
   4. Location of all buildings and structures on the proposed site.
   5. Elevation drawings or illustrations indicating the architectural treatment of all proposed buildings and structures.
   6. Any plans for the modification of standards set by this title or any other provision of this code.
   7. Location and size of all required parking spaces.
   8. Landscape plan subject to chapter 30A of this title.
   9. General floor plans of all proposed buildings and structures.
   10. Indication of location, size and type of facilities for the storage of trash and waste materials.
   11. Design layout and size of all proposed signs.
   12. Drainage plan of the proposed site.
4. Public Hearing; Notice And Procedure: The planning commission shall hold at least one public hearing affording an opportunity for all parties interested to be heard and shall give not less than ten (10) days' nor more than thirty (30) days' notice of time and place of such hearing, and of the expected date of city council consideration, published in the designated legal newspaper for the city. Such notice shall also contain the description of the land and the proposed zoning changes. When an amendment involves changes in district boundaries of an area of five (5) acres or less, at least ten (10) days before the hearing, the city planner, on behalf of the planning commission chair, shall mail an identical notice to the owner and to each of the property owners situated wholly or partly within three hundred fifty feet (350') of the outside boundaries of the land proposed to be rezoned. When an apartment building owner is notified, a notice shall also be sent to the apartment manager for posting, and when a nonlocal business owner is notified, a notice shall also be sent to the local business address. The applicant shall post a sign on the property indicating a rezoning proposal is under consideration. The sign shall be posted on the property at least ten (10) days prior to the hearing before the planning commission. Failure to post the notice or to properly mail the notice, or failure of the property owners to receive the notice shall not invalidate the proceedings.
5. Action By Planning Commission: The city council shall not rezone any land or make any other amendment to this title without having first referred it to the planning commission for their consideration and recommendation. The planning commission shall make a written report to the city council stating its findings and recommendations.
6. Action By City Council: The city council shall consider the amendment at the next available city council meeting after the receipt of the report and recommendations from the planning commission. Failure to receive a report from the planning commission as herein provided shall not invalidate the proceedings or actions of the city council. The city council may continue its consideration for further investigation. The council may also request further information from the staff and planning commission. Upon conclusion of its consideration, the city council shall consider findings for either approval, denial or approval with modification.
7. Approval; Denial: This title may be amended by a three-fifths (3/5) simple majority vote of the entire city council. Zoning district changes from residential classification to commercial or industrial classifications may be amended by a four-fifths (4/5) vote of the entire council. All other zoning district changes may be amended by a three-fifths (3/5) vote of the entire city council. Refusal to amend this title shall constitute a finding and determination that the proposed amendment is not consistent with the goals and policies of the comprehensive plan. No application which has been denied wholly or in part shall be reconsidered for a period of six (6) months from the date of the order of denial, except on grounds of new evidence or proof of change of conditions. Decision Period: All applications shall be reviewed consistent with Minnesota Statutes, Section 15.99.
   

1. Purpose: The purpose of the Concept Plan Review is to provide applicants with an early, informal opportunity to receive staff and advisory feedback on proposed applications prior to formal submittal. The Concept Plan Review is intended to:
   1. Identify potential issues related to land use, infrastructure, and policy compliance early in the process;
   2. Improve the quality and completeness of future applications;
   3. Promote consistency with the City’s Comprehensive Plan, zoning regulations, and adopted policies; and
   4. Facilitate an efficient and predictable review process.
2. Applicability: A Concept Plan Review is encouraged for, and may be required by the City prior to, the following applications:
   1. Rezoning (map amendments);
   2. Comprehensive Plan amendments;
   3. Ordinance text amendments related to land use, zoning, or development standards;
   4. Major developments, as determined by the Community Development Director based on project size, complexity, or potential impacts.
3. Submittal Requirements: Concept Plan submittals shall include sufficient information to describe the general scope and intent of the proposal. At a minimum:
   1. A concept site plan illustrating:
      1. General layout of buildings and uses;
      2. Access points and circulation;
      3. Approximate building footprints;
      4. Open space and/or landscaping areas.
   2. A written narrative describing:
      1. Proposed land uses and development programing;
      2. Existing conditions and surrounding land uses;
      3. Any anticipated variances, departures, or policy modifications;
      4. Any additional materials deemed necessary by the Zoning Administrator.
4. Review Process:
   1. Concept Plan Review shall be conducted by City staff and may include input from other City departments or impacted agencies.
   2. The Concept Plan shall be presented to the City Council in a workshop format, when determined appropriate by the City, for general feedback and discussion.
5. Nature of Review:
   1. The Concept Plan Review is advisory in nature and does not constitute a formal application, approval, or denial.
   2. Comments are intended to guide future applications and are not binding.
   3. Submission of a Concept Plan does not vest any development rights.
6. Relationship to Formal Applications:
   1. Completion of Concept Plan Review does not waive or replace any requirements for formal applications.
   2. A formal application shall be submitted following Concept Plan Review.
   3. The City may require modifications prior to accepting a formal application.
7. Fees: The City may establish fees for Concept Plan Review by resolution.
   

1. At any time within 30 days after the City Planner, Development Review Committee or other City employee or committee makes a decision under the provisions of this title, except in connection with prosecution for violations thereof, the applicant or other person affected thereby may appeal the decision by filing a written notice stating the action appealed from and stating the specific grounds upon which the appeal is made.
2. The Planning Commission shall conduct a public hearing on the appeal and make a recommendation to the City Council.
3. The City Council, acting as the Board of Adjustment and Appeals, shall conduct a public hearing and make the final determination.
4. Notice of the hearing before the Planning Commission and City Council shall be mailed to all appellants. In all cases involving determination of district boundary lines, or interpretation of the text of this title, 10 days' published notice of hearing in the official newspaper shall be given.