The purpose of the R-4 district is to provide a district for attached and multiple family dwellings in those areas designated for medium density residential development in the comprehensive plan. Development within this district shall occur at densities greater than four but not exceeding 12 dwelling units per acre. The allowed density for a piece of property will be determined by the city at the time of the development application. The determination will be based upon the site specific characteristics of the property and the requested development. Factors to be considered in increasing or decreasing the allowed density include the existing environmental conditions such as wetlands, floodplains, steep slopes, and significant trees; the specific site plan; the type of housing units proposed, including whether greater density is desirable because the development contains affordable housing that is consistent with the city’s affordable housing goals but that avoids unacceptable concentrations of such housing; the requested zoning; the minimum standards of this ordinance; the potential impact from traffic generated by the development; and the surrounding area. The burden of establishing the appropriateness of the high end of the density range will be on the applicant.

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

a)   attached dwelling units;

b)   multiple family dwelling units;

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 for six or fewer persons;

e)   licensed day care facilities serving three or fewer persons within any dwelling unit, excluding children residing in the dwelling unit; or

f)   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 utility 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.

(Amended by Ord. 2013-10, adopted June 24, 2013; amended by Ord. 2008-19, adopted July 14, 2008)

Within the R-4 district only the following uses shall be permitted as accessory uses, provided they are subordinate to, associated with and located on the same lot as a permitted use:

a)   attached garages for any residential structure;

b)   detached garages, provided they are located in a common building or space approved by the city under a uniform plan;

c)   swimming pools, tennis courts and similar recreational facilities, provided they are developed for joint use by members of the homeowners' association or similar organization;

d)   storage buildings designed for common use by members of the homeowners' association or similar organization or for use by the maintenance staff for storage or as a workshop associated with normal upkeep of the property;

e)   solar energy system;

f)   receive-only satellite dish antennas and other antenna devices up to a maximum height of 60 feet as measured from the ground upon which it is located subject to the requirements provided in section 300.15. subd. 12; and radio devices no larger than one cubic foot in size that are attached to utility poles, if there is no more than one per pole.

g)   one leasing, sales or management office per development, provided it is used solely for leasing, sales or management of units within the development, does not exceed 1,000 square feet of floor area and except as provided for in subdivision 4;

h)   minor mass transit facilities including benches, which benches may include advertising signs consistent with the provisions of section 325 of the code of city ordinances, except as provided for in subdivision 4;

i)   evergreen material sales if in compliance with the standards specified in section 300.15, subd. 13, and the city planner has given approval;

j)   public or private schools having a course of instruction meeting the compulsory education requirements of the Minnesota board of education for students enrolled in grades K-12, or any portion thereof, provided that each school:

   1)   serves no more than 12 students, unless each and every one of the students is living in the structure and is the child, grandchild, parent, grandparent, spouse, or ward of a family member living in the structure;

   2)   has no residential facilities for students who are not the child, grandchild, parent, grandparent, spouse, or ward of a family member living in the structure;

   3)   has no more than one employee or independent teaching contractor who lives outside the structure, unless the total number of traffic trips generated by these people does not exceed the total of one trip to and from the structure for each day of instruction;

   4)   complies with the sign regulations for permitted residential uses, not conditionally permitted uses, in the applicable zoning district; and

   5)   complies with all other applicable city ordinances regarding parking.

k)   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,

   2)    the items offered for sale consist only of items owned by a person who occupies the property as his/her residence or by friends of the resident

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

   4)   paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 do not apply to conditionally permitted educational, religious, and public institutions; and

l)   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. 2016-08, effective May 23, 2016; Amended by Ord. 2009-13, adopted September 14, 2009; amended by Ord. 2008-19, adopted July 14, 2008; amended by Ord. No. 2022-18, effective November 14, 2022)

Within the R-4 district no structure or land shall be used for the following except by conditional use permit and in compliance with the standards specified in section 300.16 of this ordinance:

a)   educational institutions and facilities, except as provided for in subdivision 3;

b)   religious institutions and facilities;

c)   mass transit facilities, except as provided for in subdivision 3;

d)   licensed day care facilities serving four through 16 persons in suitably designed and designated common areas or structures which are not also used for residential purposes;

e)   licensed residential care facilities or community based residential care facilities serving 7 through 10 persons;

f)   private, non-profit recreational facilities as a principal use;

g)   public or private nursing or convalescent homes;

h)   cemeteries;

i)   marinas;

j)   public buildings or facilities and cabinets larger than 150 cubic feet that hold utility equipment;

k)   telecommunication facilities as defined in Section 300.34;

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

m)   commercial nurseries;

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

(Amended by Ord. No. 2021-21, effective October 10, 2021; amended by Ord. 2013-10, effective June 24, 2013; amended by Ord. 2012-05, effective March 26, 2012)

No building or land in the R-4 district shall be used except in conformance with the following:

a)   height: building height shall be regulated generally by floor area ratio and yard area requirements but shall be evaluated along with other design parameters under site and building plan review. The planning commission or city council may impose reasonable height limitations when any of the following conditions are found to exist:

   1)   the proposed building is located within 200 feet of any designated low density residential district;

   2)   the proposed building is located within 100 feet of any designated public park;

   3)   the proposed building is highly visible to a large number of parcels containing or designated on the comprehensive plan to contain low density residential uses due to site conditions, including topography and lack of mature vegetation; or

   4)   the proposed building will be of an inappropriate site or architectural design due to existing or planned topography or sight lines.

   In imposing height limitations, it shall be the intent of the planning commission and city council to mitigate potential negative impacts rather than to limit the density of the project.

b)   front yard setback: minimum of 35 feet from the right-of-way of local and neighborhood collector streets as identified in the comprehensive plan; or a minimum of 50 feet from railroad lines or from the right-of-way of major collector or arterial roadways as identified in the comprehensive plan, or the height of the building, whichever is greater;

c)   side and rear yard setback: side and rear yard setbacks shall be 1½ times the height of the building up to a maximum of 100 feet, but in no case less than the following when measured from land designated accordingly in the comprehensive plan:

   1)   50 feet from low density residential;

   2)   40 feet from medium or high density residential, commercial or office;

   3)   30 feet from industrial; and

   4)   20 feet from institutional or open space;

      Side and rear yard setbacks may be reduced to zero feet where dwellings are designed to share common walls.

d)   floor area ratio: maximum of 0.5;

e)   lot area: established in chapter 400 of this code;

f)   access: by permit from a public body. Principal access shall be to a collector or arterial roadway as designated in the comprehensive plan;

g)   building spacing: minimum spacing between buildings shall be the average of the heights of the buildings;

h)   outdoor recreational area: minimum of 10 percent of the gross project area shall be in private recreational uses for project residents. Such area shall be for active or passive recreational uses suited to the needs of the residents of the project, including swimming pools, trails, nature areas, tot lots and saunas. (Figure 20)

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. No. 2023-02, effective February 27, 2023)

The following uses are allowed by interim use permit in the R-4 district:

a)   Any use authorized as a conditional use or other similar uses as determined by the city planner. These uses must meet the standards and conditions outlined for the corresponding conditional use unless waived by the city council, given the temporary nature of the use.

b)   Home occupation:

   1)   must comply with the provisions of section 300.15, subd. 14.

c)   Leasing, sales or management office for a development if the office exceeds 1,000 square feet of floor area:

   1)   must be designed to be architecturally consistent with the principal buildings in the project;

   2)   must meet the parking standards provided in section 300.28, subd. 12, for office use; and

   3)   must have any signs designed to be consistent with the principal use.

d)   Commercial kennel for dogs, cats, or both:

   1)   must have a minimum lot size of two acres;

   2)   must be located next to a collector or arterial street, as identified in the comprehensive plan, or otherwise located so that access to the site will not conduct significant traffic on local residential streets;

   3)   must screen exterior storage, including refuse, from view from adjacent properties or public streets;

   4)   must not include the use of a crematory;

   5)   must screen parking areas for patrons from adjacent properties;

   6)   must maintain a minimum setback of 100 feet between the kennels and all property lines;

   7)   must keep all dogs and cats within an enclosed building at all times, except for supervised walks;

   8)   must not cause annoyance or disturbance to another person by frequent howling, yelping, barking, or other kinds of noise. This paragraph only applies when the noise has continued for a 5-minute period. This requirement applies to the cumulative barking from the kennel, including one or several dogs;

    9)   must provide at least one parking space per employee and one parking space for each ten kennel cages;

   10)   must maintain a valid city kennel license and must comply with all applicable city and state building, health and maintenance standards;

   11)   is subject to site and building plan review pursuant to section 300.27 of this ordinance; and

   12)   is subject to a reasonable limitation on the total number of animals or the size of the facilities. This will be determined by the city based on the size of the property, the uses of adjoining properties, the existence of buffering and other appropriate factors.

e)   A use or improvement that is not permitted in this zoning district or that does not comply with the standards for this zoning district, if such action is required as a reasonable accommodation under the federal Americans with disabilities act, the federal fair housing act, or other federal or state law.

(Amended by Ord. #99-25, effective October 11, 1999; amended by Ord. #2000-19, effective October 16, 2000; amended by Ord. #2002-03, effective January 7, 2002; Ord. #2002-04, effective February 11, 2002; amended by Ord. 2010-18, effective December 20, 2010; Amended by Ord. 2012-05, effective March 26, 2012; amended by Ord. No. 2021-21, effective October 10, 2021; amended by Ord. No. 2025-07, effective June 23, 2025)