Menahga City Zoning Code

§ 151.23

S-D, SHORELAND OVERLAY DISTRICT.

(A) Purpose. Provide for the wise development of shoreland overlay district of public waters by establishing minimum lot size, width, and water frontage for lots suitable as building sites; regulating the placement of structures in relation to shorelines and roads; regulating the type and placement of sanitary and waste disposal facilities; and the regulation of shoreland grading and filling.

(B) Statutory authorization, shoreland management. The shorelands of the City of Menahga, Minnesota are hereby designated as a shoreland overlay district pursuant to the authorization contained in M.S. Chapter 379, and in furtherance of the policies declared in M.S. Chapters 105, 115, 116, and 462.

(C) Public waters classification. The public waters of the State of Minnesota located within the City of Menahga, County of Wadena, State of Minnesota, have been classified and numbered by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and that classification shall apply for all purposes under this chapter.

(1) Blueberry River: forested (FT) river classification (300 feet from the ordinary high-water level); and

(2) Spirit Lake: general development (GD); the shoreline overlay district zone shall be established at 1,000 feet from the OHWL (DNR has determined the OHWL on Spirit Lake to be 1,383.75 feet) or the Menahga shoreland standard, whichever is closer to the water body on the undeveloped shoreline.

(D) Permitted uses in shoreland. All permitted uses allowed and regulated by the applicable zoning district underlying this shoreland overlay district as indicated on the official zoning district map.

(E) Conditional uses in shoreland overlay district. All conditional uses and applicable attached conditions allowed and regulated by the applicable zoning district underlying this shoreland overlay district as indicated on the official zoning district map.

(F) Permitted accessory uses in shoreland overlay district. Any use permitted as accessory by the applicable zoning district underlying this shoreland overlay district as indicated on the official zoning district map.

(G) Performance standards. The following dimensional requirements shall apply to all shorelands of all public waters within the City of Menahga. Where the requirements of the underlying zoning district, as shown on the official zoning map, are more restrictive than those set forth herein, then the more restrictive standards shall apply. For lots newly platted or created by metes and bounds description after the effective date of this chapter, the following shall apply:

(1) Blueberry River, forested (FT). Lot area, height, lot widths, and yard requirements:

(a) Lot area: 20,000 square feet;

(b) Water frontage and building line lot width, single-family (sewered): 200 feet;

(d) Water frontage and building line lot width, duplex (sewered): 300 feet;

(e) Water frontage and building line lot width, duplex (unsewered): 300 feet;

(f) Building setback from ordinary high-water level (sewered): 150 feet;

(g) Building setback from ordinary high-water level (unsewered): 150 feet;

(h) Elevation of lowest floor above highest known water level: 3 feet;

(i) Sewage system setback from ordinary high-water mark: 100 feet;

(j) Sewage system elevation above highest ground water level or bedrock: 4 feet;

(k) Impervious surface coverage: 30%;

(l) Height structure maximum: 35 feet;

(m) Top, toe, and sides of bluff: 30 feet;

(n) Substandard lots: see § 151.09.

(2) Spirit Lake, general development (GD). Lot area, height, lot widths, and yard requirements:

(a) Lot area (unsewered): 25,000 square feet;

(b) Lot area (sewered): 15,000 square feet;

(d) Water frontage and building line lot width, single-family (sewered): 75 feet;

(e) Water frontage and building line lot width, duplex (unsewered): 150 feet;

(f) Building setback from ordinary high-water level: 75 feet;

(g) Elevation of the lowest floor above the highest known water level: 3 feet;

(h) Impervious surface coverage: 30%;

(i) Height structure maximum: 35 feet;

(j) Top, toe, and sides of bluff: 30 feet;

(k) Setbacks. Height, depth, yard and street setback regulations will be those of the applicable zoning district.

(H) General provisions.

(1) Deck additions. Deck additions may be allowed without a variance to a structure not meeting the required setback from the ordinary high-water level if all of the following criteria are met:

(a) The structure existed on the date the structure setbacks were established;

(b) A thorough evaluation of the property and structure reveals no reasonable location for a deck meeting or exceeding the existing ordinary high water level setback of the structure;

(c) The deck encroachment toward the ordinary high-water level does not exceed 15% of the existing setback of the structure from the ordinary high-water level or is no closer than 30 feet from the OHWL, whichever is more restrictive; and

(d) The deck is constructed primarily of wood and is not roofed or screened.

(2) Placement and design of roads, driveways, and parking areas. These facilities must be designed to take advantage of natural vegetation and topography to achieve maximum screening as viewed from public waters. They must be constructed to minimize and control erosion to public waters consistent with the MPCA’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) requirements and the Minnesota Stormwater Manual and comply with the following standards:

(a) Roads, driveways, and parking areas must meet structure setbacks and must not be placed within bluff and shore impact zones, when other reasonable and feasible placement alternatives exist. If no alternatives exist, they may be placed within these areas, and must be designed to minimize adverse impacts;

(b) Watercraft access ramps, approach roads, and access-related parking areas may be placed within shore impact zones provided the vegetative screening and erosion control conditions of this

section are met;

(d) For public roads, driveways and parking areas, documentation must be provided by a qualified individual that they are designed and constructed to minimize and control erosion to public waters.

(3) Stairways, lifts, and landings. Stairways and lifts are the preferred alternative to major topographic alterations for achieving access up and down bluffs and steep slopes to shore areas. Stairways, lifts, and landings must meet the following design requirements:

(a) Stairways and lifts must not exceed four feet in width on residential lots. Wider stairways may be used for commercial properties, public recreational uses, and planned unit developments;

(b) Landings for stairways and lifts on residential lots must not exceed 32 square feet in area. Landings larger than 32 square feet may be used for commercial properties, public-space recreational uses, and planned unit developments;

(d) Stairways, lifts, and landings may be either constructed above the ground on posts or pilings, or placed into the ground, provided they are designed and built in a manner that ensures control of soil erosion;

(e) Stairways, lifts, and landings must be located in the most visually inconspicuous portions of lots, as viewed from the surface of the public water assuming summer, leaf-on conditions, whenever practical; and

(f) Facilities such as ramps, lifts, or mobility paths for physically handicapped persons are also allowed for achieving access to shore areas, if they are consistent with the dimensional and performance standards of divisions (H)(3)(a) and (b) above and the requirements of Minn. Rules Chapter 1341.

(4) Water-oriented accessory structures or facilities. Each residential lot may have one water-oriented accessory structure or facility if it complies with the following provisions:

(a) The structure or facility must not exceed ten feet in height, exclusive of safety rails, and cannot occupy an area greater than 200 square feet. The structure or facility may include detached decks not exceeding eight feet above grade at any point or at-grade patios;

(b) The structure or facility is not in the bluff impact zone;

(d) The structure is not a boathouse or boat storage structure as defined under M.S. § 103G.245;

(e) The structure or facility must be treated to reduce visibility as viewed from public waters and adjacent shorelands by vegetation, topography, increased setbacks or color, assuming summer, leaf-on conditions;

(f) The roof may be used as an open-air deck with safety rails, but must not be enclosed with a roof or sidewalls or used as a storage area;

(g) The structure or facility must not be designed or used for human habitation and must not contain water supply or sewage treatment facilities; and

(h) Water-oriented accessory structures may have the lowest floor placed lower than the elevation specified in shoreland overlay district. If the structure is designed to accommodate internal flooding, constructed of flood-resistant materials to the elevation, electrical and mechanical equipment is placed above the elevation and, if long duration flooding is anticipated, the structure is built to withstand ice action and wind-driven waves and debris.

(5) Shoreland alterations. The removal of natural vegetation shall be restricted to prevent erosion into public waters, to consume nutrients in the soil, and to preserve shoreland aesthetics. Removal of natural vegetation in the shoreland overlay district shall be subject to the following provisions:

(a) Selective removal of natural vegetation shall be allowed provided that sufficient vegetative cover remains to screen cars, dwellings and other structures when viewed from water.

(b) Clear cutting of natural vegetation shall be prohibited.

(c) Natural vegetation shall be restored insofar as feasible after any construction project is completed in order to retard surface runoff and soil erosion.

(d) The provisions of this division (H)(5) shall not apply to permitted uses which normally require the removal of natural vegetation.

(e) Grading and filling in shoreland areas or any alterations of the natural topography where the slope of the land is toward public water or a watercourse leading to a public water must be authorized by a conditional use permit. The permit may be granted subject to the conditions that:

1. The smallest amount of bare ground is exposed for as short a time as feasible;

2. Temporary ground cover, such as sod, is planted;

3. Methods to prevent erosion and trap sediment are employed;

4. Fill is stabilized to accepted engineering standards;

5. Excavations on shoreland where the intended purpose is connection to public water shall require a permit from the city Zoning Administrator before construction is begun and must comply with the rules of the Commissioner of Natural Resources (DNR).

(Ord. passed 4-24-78; Am. Ord. passed 12- -24) Penalty, see § 10.99