A Zoning Administrator for the city shall be appointed or hired by the City Council, and the Zoning Administrator shall have the power and duty to enforce this chapter, and to perform the following duties.

   (A)   Examine all applications pertaining to use of land, buildings, or structures, and approve same when the application conforms with the provisions of this chapter.

   (B)   Keep a record of all non-conforming uses.

   (C)   Periodically inspect buildings, structures, and uses of land to determine compliance with the terms of this chapter. In regard to performance standards, the Zoning Administrator may require the services of a testing laboratory to determine compliance. The cost of employing the laboratory shall be paid for by the owner if a violation of this chapter is established, otherwise by the city.

   (D)   Notify, in writing, any person responsible for violating a provision of this chapter, indicating the nature of the violation and ordering the action necessary to correct it.

   (E)   Order discontinuance of illegal use of land, buildings or structures; order removal of illegal buildings, structures, additions, alterations; order discontinuance of illegal work being done; or take any action authorized by this chapter to insure compliance with or to prevent violation of its provisions.

   (F)   Maintain permanent and current records of the Zoning Ordinance, including all maps, amendments, conditional use, and variations.

   (G)   Maintain a current file of all permits, all certificates, and all copies of notices of violations, discontinuance, or removal for such time as necessary to insure a continuous compliance with the provisions of this chapter, and, on request, provide information to any person having a proprietary or tenancy interest in any specific property.

   (H)   Provide technical assistance to the Planning Commission.

(Ord. 221, passed 11-6-1995)

   (A)   Establishment of Commission. A Planning Commission for the city is established. The Commission shall be the city planning agency as authorized by M.S. § 462.354, Subdivision 1.

   (C)   Organization; meetings.

      (1)   Officers. The Commission shall elect a Chairperson from among its appointed members for the term of one year at the beginning of each calendar year. The Commission may create and fill other offices as it may determine.

      (2)   Meetings, records, reports. The Commission shall hold at least one regular meeting each month. It shall adopt rules for the transaction of business and shall keep a record of its resolutions, transactions, and findings, which record shall be a public record. The Chairperson or other person designated by the Commission shall submit a monthly report to the City Council of its works during the preceding month. Expenditures of the Commission shall be within amounts appropriated for the purpose by the City Council. Three members shall constitute a quorum. A majority vote is required to approve or disapprove.

   (D)   Powers and duties of the Commission.

      (1)   Plan. The Planning Commission shall be the planning agency and shall have the powers and duties given such agencies generally by law. The Commission shall also exercise the duties conferred upon it by this chapter.

      (2)   Zoning Ordinance. No zoning ordinance or amendment thereto shall be adopted by the Council until a public hearing has been held thereon by the Planning Commission upon notice, as provided in M.S. § 462.357, Subdivision 3, as it may be amended from time to time.

      (3)   Conditional uses. The Planning Commission shall make recommendations on all requests for a conditional use permit under the terms of this chapter. The Commission shall report its recommendations to the Council for action.

      (4)   Variances. All applications for variances shall be referred to the Planning Commission and forwarded with or without recommendations to the Council for its decision.

      (5)   Subdivision/plats; approval. Any plat of land shall be referred to the Planning Commission for review and recommendations prior to final approval by the Council. Any plat so referred shall be returned to the Council by the Commission within 30 days. Failure of the Commission to report within that period is deemed to have satisfied the requirements of this subdivision.

      (1)   Appeals where it is alleged that there is an error in any order, requirement, decision, or determination made by an administrative officer in the enforcement of this chapter.

      (2)   Requests for a variance from the literal provisions of this chapter in instances where their strict enforcement would cause practical difficulties because of circumstances unique to the individual property under consideration.

      (1)   In exercising the aforementioned powers, the Planning Commission may make recommendation to the City Council, so long as the action is in conformity with the terms of this chapter, reverse or affirm, in whole or in part, or may modify the order, requirements, decision or determination appealed from, and may make such order, requirements, decision or determination as ought to be made, and to that end shall have powers of the administrative official from whom any appeal is taken.

(Ord. 221, passed 11-6-1995; Am. Ord. 246, passed 11-1-2004; Am. Ord. 311, passed 5-19-2025) Penalty, see § 10.99

   (A)   Application for any adjustment permissible under the practical difficulties provision in § 155.281(E) shall be made to the Zoning Administrator in the form of a written application for a permit to use the land or building or both, as set forth in the application. No nonconforming use of neighboring lands, structures or buildings in the same district, and no permitted use of lands, structures or other buildings in other districts shall be considered ground for the issuance of a variance.

   (B)   The application shall present a statement and adequate evidence showing the following.

      (1)   The Board of Adjustment, consistent with the authority granted by law, may grant a property owner a variance from compliance with the literal provisions of this chapter in an instance where strict enforcement would cause practical difficulties to the individual property owner and when it can be demonstrated that such action will be in keeping with the spirit and intent of this chapter.

      (2)   The term “practical difficulties” means that the:

         (a)   Property owner proposes to use the property in a reasonable manner that is not otherwise permitted;

         (b)   The plight of the property owner is due to circumstances unique to the property, not created by the property owner; and

         (c)   The variance, if granted, will not alter the essential character of the locality. Economic considerations alone do not constitute practical difficulties. “Practical difficulties,” for the purposes of this section, also means and includes, but is not limited to, inadequate access to direct sunlight for solar energy systems.

      (3)   Notwithstanding a finding that practical difficulties exist, the Board of Adjustment may not permit as a variance any use that is not permitted under the provisions of this chapter for property in the zone where the land for which the variance is sought is located.

      (4)   In its consideration of a variance request the Board of Adjustment shall consider the following questions:

         (a)   Whether or not exceptional, unique or extraordinary circumstances apply to the physical surrounding, shape or topographic conditions of the parcel of land which results in practical difficulties for the owner?

         (b)   Whether or not the variance requested will alter the essential character of the locality?

         (c)   Whether or not granting the variance requested will:

            1.   Impair an adequate supply of light and air to adjacent property;

            2.   Substantially increase congestion in adjacent public streets;

            3.   Endanger the public safety;

            4.   Substantially diminish or impair property values within the vicinity?

         (d)   Whether the variance requested is the minimum variance which would alleviate the practical difficulties?

         (e)   Whether or not the variance requested is consistent with the intent of this chapter and the city’s Comprehensive Plan?

         (f)   Whether or not the variance requested provides for a reasonable and practical solution that eliminates the practical difficulties?

         (g)   Whether or not the property owner proposes to use the property in a reasonable manner that is not otherwise permitted?

      (5)   The Board of Adjustment, in granting a variance, may impose additional conditions to ensure compliance with its decision and protect adjacent properties. Such conditions must be directly related to and bear a rough proportionality to the impact created by the variance.

(Ord. 221, passed 11-6-1995; Am. Ord. 312, passed 5-19-2025) Penalty, see § 10.99

   (A)   Application for any adjustment permissible under the provisions of this subchapter shall be made to the Zoning Administrator, in the form of a written application for a building permit to use the property or premises as set forth in the application. An application for a variance shall be accompanied by payment of a fee as established in § 155.269, in addition to the regular building permit fee.

   (B)   All required information shall be submitted with the application, and the Zoning Administrator shall review the application, and within ten business days after receiving the application, he or she shall notify the applicant in writing if the application is not complete, and advise the applicant as to what additional information is required.

   (C)   When the Zoning Administrator determines the application to be complete, the Zoning Administrator shall set the date for a public hearing, and shall have notices of the hearing published in the legal newspaper, and shall notify all property owners within 350 feet of the outer boundaries of the property in question; not less than ten days and not more than 30 days prior to the hearing. However, failure of any property owner to receive notification shall not invalidate the proceedings at least once. The Council may waive the mailed notice requirements for a city-wide amendment to this chapter initiated by the Planning Commission or City Council. Notice of the hearings shall be posted at the City Hall and in one other place at least ten days prior to the public hearing, in addition to publishing the notice in the official newspaper. This notice shall describe the particular amendment, date, time and place of hearing. The current City Assessor’s current tax records shall be deemed sufficient for the location or certification of ownership of the adjacent properties.

   (D)   The city shall take action to approve or deny the application within 60 days of receiving a completed application. If the city cannot take action to approve or deny the application within 60 days of receiving the completed application, the city may make a one-time extension of the time for taking action before the end of the initial 60-day period by providing written notice of the extension, the reasons for the extension, and its anticipated length, which may not exceed 60 days unless approved by the applicant in writing. A valid reason for this extension may be that the city needs more time to consider the application. A motion to approve the application which fails to pass because of sufficient votes, shall not be deemed to be a denial of an application. The passage of a motion to deny the application is required in order for an application to be denied. Additional extensions beyond the first extension will require the approval by the applicant in writing.

   (E)   Any person may appear or be represented by an agency or attorney.

   (F)   Within a reasonable time after the hearing, the Planning Commission shall make its order deciding the matter and serve a copy of the order upon the applicant or the petitioner by mail.

(Ord. 221, passed 11-6-1995)

   (A)   It is the intent of this chapter that all questions of interpretation and enforcement shall be first presented to the Administrative Official, and that questions shall be presented to the Board of Adjustment only on appeal from the decision of the Administrative Official, and that recourse from the decisions of the Board of Adjustment shall be to the City Council, then to the courts, as established by M.S. Chapter 462, as it may be amended from time to time.

   (B)   The duties of the City Council in regard to this chapter shall include hearing and deciding questions of interpretation and enforcement that may arise in any case where the decision of the Board of Adjustment is challenged. The City Council shall also have the duties of considering and adopting or rejecting proposed amendments to the repeal of this chapter as provided by law, and establishing a schedule of fees and charges as stated in § 155.269.

(Ord. 221, passed 11-6-1995)

   Any person who shall violate any of the provisions hereof or who shall fail to comply with any of the provisions hereof or who shall make any false statement in any document required to be submitted under the provisions hereof, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction therefore, shall be subject to the terms of § 10.99. Each day that a violation continues shall constitute a separate offense.

(Ord. 221, passed 11-6-1995) Penalty, see § 10.99