The purpose of the R-2 district is to provide a district for two family dwellings in those areas where such development is consistent with the low-density residential designation of the comprehensive plan and compatible with surrounding land use characteristics. Development within this district may occur at densities not exceeding three dwelling units per acre.

Within the R-2 district no structure or land may be used except for any one or more of the following permitted uses and the accessory and conditional uses in subdivisions 3 and 4:

a)   two-family dwellings;

b)   manufactured homes built in conformance with Minn. Stat. §§ 327.31 et seq., except not more than one home per lot.

c)   public park and recreational areas owned and operated by a governmental unit, including recreational facilities and structures consistent with the area, except as provided for in subdivision 4;

d)   licensed residential care facilities or community based residential care facilities serving six or fewer persons, a licensed day care facility serving 12 or fewer persons, and a group family day care facility licensed under Minnesota Rules, parts 9502.0315 to 9502.0445 to serve 14 or fewer children, except a residential facility whose primary purpose is to treat juveniles who have violated criminal statutes relating to sex offenses or have been adjudicated delinquent on the basis of conduct in violation of criminal statutes relating to sex offenses;

e)   cabinets no larger than 150 cubic feet that hold utility equipment and for which a landscape plan has been approved by the city planner; overhead utility poles and lines for a distribution line up to a maximum height of 60 feet as measured from the ground upon which it is located, except that poles and lines for a distribution line may be taller than 60 feet, but not taller than 80 feet, when needed to cross a major roadway such as a freeway.

f)   private recreational uses and structures for the exclusive use of surrounding property owner(s) as a principal use. Such uses and structures include tennis courts, pools, patios, and docks, which cannot be used for commercial purposes or non-recreational uses. The only permitted buildings are gazebos and storage sheds. Storage sheds may be no larger than 120 square feet. All structures mentioned in this subsection must meet other minimum-required setbacks and maximum area requirements for accessory structures.

Within the R-2 district only the following uses are permitted as accessory uses, provided they are subordinate to, associated with and located on the same lot as a permitted use:

a)   private swimming pools, tennis courts, and other sport courts;

b)   Accessory structures not exceeding 12 feet in height, or an aggregate of 600 square feet of gross floor area, except as provided for in subdivision 4;

c)   solar energy system;

d)   home occupations that comply with the provisions of section 300.15, subd. 14;

e)   minor mass transit facilities including benches, except as provided for in subdivision 4;

f)   licensed day care facilities serving 12 or fewer persons, and licensed group family day care facilities serving 14 or fewer children, provided that there is not more than one outside employee in any such facility;

g)   garage sales, estate sales, yard sales, rummage sales, and other sales of personal property that have similar traffic and parking patterns, if:

   1)    the sales occur during no more than two periods of a maximum of three consecutive days each in any 12-month period,

   3)    none of the items offered for sale have been purchased for resale or received on consignment for purposes of resale, and

h)   other uses that are not regulated by this code and that are customarily associated with but subordinate to a permitted use, as reasonably determined by the city.

(Amended by Ord. 2019-04, adopted March 18, 2019; amended by Ord. No. 2022-18, effective November 14, 2022)

Within the R-2 district no structure or land shall be used for the following except by conditional use permit and in conformance with the standards specified in section 300.16 of this ordinance:

a)   accessory dwelling units;

b)   utility poles and appurtenances (such as wires) that are over 60 feet in height and freestanding upon the ground, and all transmission lines that are not subject to state review under the Minnesota power plant siting act;

c)   other uses similar to those permitted by this section, as determined by the city.

a)   Lots must meet all of the following minimum standards:

   1)   Lot area: 12,500 square feet per dwelling unit

   2)   Lot width at front yard setback: 55 feet per dwelling unit

   3)   Lot width at right-of-way: 55 feet per dwelling unit

   4)   Lot depth: 125 feet

   5)   Buildable area: 2,400 square feet

   6)   Buildable area dimensions: minimum of four sides with 30 feet per side

b)   Principal structures must conform with the following:

   1)   building height: maximum of 35 feet, except if the building includes a walkout or lookout elevation, in which case the maximum height is 25 feet.

   2)   front yard setback:

       a.   From streets located outside of the R-2 plat, a minimum of 35 feet from the right-of-way of streets and railroad lines. In the case of a corner lot, one front yard setback may be reduced by 10 feet. On double frontage lots, the setback may be reduced by 10 feet towards the direction perceived by the city planner to be the rear yard.

       b.   From streets located within the R-2 plat, and only serve the lots within the R-2 plat, a minimum of 25 feet.

   3)   side yard setback: 10 feet

   4)   rear yard setback: minimum of 30 feet or 20 percent of the depth of the lot, whichever is less

   5)_   maximum impervious surface: 50 percent

   6)   maximum floor area ratio: 0.25

c)   Accessory structures must conform to the setbacks established for principal structures, except for the following:

   1)   all accessory structures located more than 10 feet from a principal structure must be located a minimum of 10 feet from a rear or side lot line;

   2)   accessory structures, except detached garages, must be located behind the front line of the principal structure or maintain a minimum setback of 50 feet when located between the principal structure and the front lot line;

   3)   swimming pools and sport courts must be located behind the front building line of the house, and set back a minimum of 15 feet from side and rear property lines as measured to the water line of pool or edge of the sport court. On corner lots, swimming pools and sport courts are subject to front yard setbacks established for principal structures.

d)   All dwellings, including manufactured homes, must have a depth of at least 20 feet for at least 50 percent of their width and a width of at least 20 feet for at least 50 percent of their depth.

e)   All dwellings must have a permanent foundation in conformance with the Minnesota state building code.

f)   Off street parking must be provided as outlined in City Code 315.14.

g)   The city may require that construction within the buildable area of an R-2 lot be located where the city determines it would reasonably:

   1)   minimize the amount of adverse impacts to the physical environment on the lot, including such things as significant trees, grading, erosion, and surface water drainage, and

h)   No principal structure, or any portion of it, may be located outside the buildable area, except when intrusions into setbacks are allowed by this code.

i)   All structures and site work, including any grading and landscaping activities, must comply with the wetland protection, floodplain protection, shoreland protection, steep slope protection and tree protection requirements contained in sections 300.23, 300.24, 300.25, 300.28 and 314.01 of this ordinance.

(Amended by Ord. 2021-20, adopted October 4, 2021; amended by Ord. 2019-04, adopted March 18, 2019; Section 300.11 replaced and replaced by Ord. 2014-23, adopted September 15, 2014; amended by Ord. No. 2023-02, effective February 27, 2023)