This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the St. Paul Park Zoning Code, except as referred to herein, where it shall be known as "this chapter."

(Code 1982, § 15.01)

The intent of this chapter is to protect the public health, safety and general welfare of the community and its people through the establishment of minimum regulations governing development and use of property. This chapter shall divide the city into use districts and establish regulations in regard to location, erection, construction, reconstruction, alteration and use of structures and land. Such regulations are established to protect such use areas; to promote orderly development and redevelopment; to provide adequate light, air and convenience of access to property; to prevent congestion of structures by regulating land, buildings, yards and density of population; to provide for compatibility of different land uses; to provide for administration of this chapter; to provide for amendments; to prescribe penalties for violation of such regulations; and to define powers and duties of the city staff, the board of adjustment and appeals, the planning commission, and the city council in relation to the zoning code.

(Code 1982, § 15.020)

It is the policy of the city that the enforcement, amendment, and administration of this chapter be accomplished with due consideration of the recommendations contained in the comprehensive municipal plan as developed and amended from time to time by the planning commission and city council. The council recognizes the comprehensive municipal plan as the policy for responsibility to regulate land use and development in accordance with the policies and purposes set forth in this chapter.

(Code 1982, § 15.021)

Where the conditions imposed by any provision of this chapter are either more or less restrictive than comparable conditions imposed by other code provisions, rules or regulations of the city, the code provision, rule or regulation which imposes the more restrictive condition, standard, or requirement shall prevail.

(Code 1982, § 15.022)

(a)

In their interpretation and application, the provisions of this chapter shall be held to be the minimum requirements for the promotion of the public health, safety and welfare.

(b)

No structure shall be erected, converted, enlarged, reconstructed or altered, and no structure or land shall be used for any purpose nor in any manner which is not in conformity with the provisions of this chapter.

(c)

Except as provided in this chapter, no building, structure or premises shall be used or occupied and no building permit shall be granted that does not conform to the requirements of this chapter.

(Code 1982, § 15.023)

Whenever in any zoning district a use is neither specifically permitted nor denied, the use shall be considered prohibited. In such case the city council or the planning commission, on their own initiative or upon request, may conduct a study to determine if the use is acceptable and if so what zoning district would be most appropriate and the determination as to conditions and standards relating to development of the use. The city council, planning commission or property owner, upon receipt of the staff study shall, if appropriate, initiate an amendment to the zoning ordinance to provide for the particular use under consideration or shall find that the use is not compatible for development within the city.

(Code 1982, § 15.024)

This chapter is enacted pursuant to the authority granted by the Municipal Planning Act, M.S.A. §§ 462.351 to 462.363.

(Code 1982, § 15.025)

The language set forth in the text of this chapter shall be interpreted in accordance with the following rules of construction:

Distance measurements. All measured distances expressed in feet shall be interpreted to mean the nearest tenth of a foot.

(Code 1982, § 15.03)

The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this chapter, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

Abutting means making contact with or separated only by public thoroughfare, railroad, public utility right-of-way or navigable waters.

Accessory building or use means a subordinate building or use which is located on the same lot on which the main building or use is situated and which is reasonably necessary and incidental to the conduct of the primary use of such building or main use. An accessory use shall include equipment necessary or incidental to such use, such as equipment used for the receipt of transmissions of television or other communication signals from satellites or other sources.

Addition means a physical enlargement of an existing structure.

Alley means a public or private right-of-way primarily designed to serve as secondary access to the side or rear of those properties whose principal frontage is on a street.

Apartment means a room or suite of rooms which is designed for, intended for, or occupied as a residence by a single family or an individual, and is equipped with cooking facilities. Such term includes dwelling unit and efficiency unit.

Aquifer recharge areas means all land surface areas which by the nature of their surface and/or subsurface soil characteristics are determined to contribute to the replenishment of subsurface water supplies.

Area identification sign means a freestanding sign which identifies the name of a multiple family residential complex consisting of three or more structures; an office, business or industrial structure containing three or more independent concerns; a single business and/or industrial complex consisting of three or more separate structures existing on individual platted lots or as a planned unit development; a mobile home court; or any integrated combination of the above. Such sign shall be limited only to the identification of an area or complex and shall not contain the name of individual owners or tenants nor contain advertising.

Artificial obstruction means any obstruction which is not a natural obstruction (see obstruction).

Automobile repair, major means general repair, rebuilding or reconditioning of engines, motor vehicles or trailers; collision service, including body, frame or fender straightening or repair; overall painting or paint job; and vehicle steam cleaning.

Automobile repair, minor means minor repairs, incidental body and fender work, painting and upholstering, replacement of parts and motor services to passenger automobiles and trucks not exceeding 12,000 pounds gross weight, but not including any operation specified under "automobile repair, major."

Automobile wrecking or junkyards means any place where two or more vehicles not in running condition and/or not licensed, or parts thereof, are stored in the open and are not being restored to operation or any land, building or structure used for wrecking or storing of such motor vehicles or parts thereof; and including any commercial salvaging and scavenging of any other goods, articles or merchandise.

Basement means that portion of a building between floor and ceiling, which is partly below and partly above grade, but so located that the vertical distance from grade to the floor below is less than the vertical distance from grade to ceiling (see story).

Bay means a cantilevered area of a room.

Best management practices (BMPs) means erosion and sediment control and water quality management practices that are the most effective and practicable means of controlling, preventing, and minimizing degradation of surface water, including avoidance of impacts, construction phasing, minimizing the length of time soil areas are exposed, prohibitions, and other management practices published by state or designated area-wide planning agencies.

Bluff means a topographic feature such as a hill, cliff, or embankment having all of the following characteristics:

(1)

part or all of the feature is located in the RD district and the slope drains toward the Mississippi River;

(2)

the slope rises at least 25 feet above the ordinary high water level of theMississippi River or toe of the bluff. For purposes of this subpart, "toe of the bluff" means the lower point of a horizontal ten-foot segment with an average slope exceeding 18 percent;

(3)

the grade of the slope from the ordinary high water level of the Mississippi River or toe of the bluff to the top of the bluff averages 30 percent or greater. For purposes of the subpart, "top of the bluff" means the higher point of the highest horizontal ten-foot segment with an average slope exceeding 18 percent; .

(4)

an area with an average slope of less than 18 percent over a distance for 50 feet or more shall not be considered part of the bluff.

Bluff impact zone means a bluff and land located within 20 feet from the top of a bluff.

Boarding home, foster children means a family dwelling where children out of their own homes are cared for.

Boardinghouse means a building other than a hotel where, for compensation and by prearrangement for definite periods, meals or lodging and meals are provided to three or more persons, not of the principal family therein, pursuant to previous arrangements and not to anyone who may apply, but not including a building providing these services for more than ten persons.

Boathouse means a structure used solely for the storage of boats or boating equipment.

Brewery means a facility that produces beer, ale, or other beverages from malt by fermentation and containing not less than on-half of one percent alcohol by volume.

Brewery, small means a brewery that produces not more than 20,000 barrels of malt liquor in a calendar year as regulated by Minnesota Statutes, as may be amended. A minor small brewery produces less than 3,500 barrels of malt liquor in a calendar year

Brewpub means a restaurant with an accessory brewery on the same premises.

Building means any structure used or intended for supporting or sheltering any use or occupancy.

Building area means the portion of a lot remaining after required yards have been provided.

Building code means the state building code.

Building ground coverage means the area of a site covered by the total horizontal projected surfaces of all buildings, including covered porches and accessory buildings.

Building height means a distance to be measured from the mean ground level to the top of a flat roof, to the mean distance of the highest gable on a pitched or hip roof, to the deck line of a mansard roof, and to the uppermost point of all other roof types.

Building official means the building inspector of the city.

Business means any establishment, occupation, employment or enterprise where merchandise is manufactured, exhibited or sold, or where services are offered for compensation.

Carport means a canopy constructed of metal or other materials supported by posts either ornamental or solid and completely open on one or more sides.

Cellar means that portion of a building between floor and ceiling which is wholly or partly below grade and so located that the vertical distance from grade to the floor below is equal to or greater than the vertical distance from grade to ceiling.

Channel means a natural or artificial depression of perceptible extent, with definite bed and banks to confine and conduct water either continuously or periodically.

Church means a building, together with its accessory buildings and uses, where persons regularly assemble for religious worship and which building, together with its accessory buildings and uses, is maintained and controlled by a religious body organized to sustain public worship.

Clear-cutting means the removal of an entire stand of trees.

Club or lodge means a nonprofit association of persons who are bona fide members paying annual dues, the use of premises being restricted to members and their guests.

Cluster development means a development planned and constructed so as to group housing units into relatively tight patterns while providing a unified network of open space and wooded areas, and meeting the overall density regulations of this chapter, the zoning ordinance and the comprehensive plan.

Cluster housing means a development design technique that concentrates buildings in specific areas on a site to allow the remaining land to be used for recreation, common open space and preservation of environmentally sensitive areas.

Cocktail room means an area for the on-sale consumption of distilled spirts on the premises of or abutting a microdistillery and in common ownership to the producer, which may include sales of beverages produced and packaged at the microdistillery for off-premises consumption as may be allowed by Minnesota Statutes, as may be amended.

Commercial recreation means a bowling alley, cart track, jump center, golf course, pool hall, vehicle racing or amusement, dancehall, skating, trampoline, tavern, theater, firearms' range, boat rental, amusement rides, campground, park, and similar uses.

Comprehensive plan means the group of maps, charts and texts that make up the comprehensive long-range plan of the city.

Conditional use means a use which, because of special problems of control the use presents, requires reasonable but special, unusual and extraordinary limitations peculiar to the use for the protection of the public welfare and the integrity of the municipal land use plan.

Conditional use permit means a permit issued by the city council in accordance with procedures specified in this chapter, as a flexibility device to enable the city council to assign dimensions to a proposed use or conditions surrounding it after consideration of adjacent uses and their functions and the special problems which the proposed use presents.

Condominium means a multiple dwelling or development containing individually owned units and jointly owned or shared areas and facilities, the development of which is subject to the provisions of the Minnesota Condominium Law, M.S.A. §§ 515A.1-101 through 515A.4-118.

Contractor means the party who signs the construction contract or development agreement with the city to construct a project. Where the construction project involves more than one contractor, the general contractor shall be the contractor that is responsible pursuant to the obligations set forth in this chapter.

Convenience food establishment means an establishment which serves food in or on disposable or edible containers in individual servings for consumption on or off the premises.

Cooperative (housing) means a multiple-family dwelling owned and maintained by the residents and subject to the provisions of M.S.A. §§ 290.09 and 290.13. The entire structure and real property is under common ownership as contrasted to a condominium dwelling where individual units are under separate individual occupant ownership.

Court means an unoccupied open space other than a yard which is bounded on two or more sides by the walls of the buildings.

Day care means the care of children outside of their own homes for a part of the 24-hour day by persons unrelated to them by blood or marriage. Day care includes family day care, group family day care, and care in group day care centers.

Day care, family means a program providing day care for no more than five children at one time, including the family day care provider's own children under school age.

Day care, group nursery means a program providing day care for more than five but fewer than 11 children at any one time, including the provider's or helper's own children under school age.

Deposition means any rock, soil, gravel, sand or other material deposited naturally or by man into a water body, watercourse, floodplains or wetlands.

Dewatering means the removal of water for construction activity. It can be a discharge of appropriated surface or groundwater to dry and/or solidify a construction site. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources permits are required to be appropriated and if contaminated may require other MPCA permits to be discharged.

Distillery means a facility that produces ethyl alcohol, hydrated oxide of ethyl, spirits of wine, whiskey, rum, brandy, gin, or other distilled spirits, including all dilutions and mixtures thereof for non-industrial use.

District means a section or sections of the city for which the regulations and provisions governing the use of buildings and lands are uniform for each class of use permitted therein.

Diversion means a channel that intercepts surface water runoff and that changes the accustomed course of all or part of a stream.

Dog kennel means any place where three dogs or more over three months of age are boarded, bred and/or offered for sale, except a veterinary clinic.

Draining means the removal of surface water or groundwater from land.

Dredging means the process by which soils or surface materials normally found in a water body, watercourse or wetland are removed for the purpose of deepening the body of water.

Drive-in means an establishment which accommodates the patron's automobile from which the occupants may receive a service or in which products purchased from the establishment may be consumed.

Dwelling means a building, or portion thereof, designed exclusively for residential occupancy, including one-family, two-family and multiple-family dwellings, but not including hotels, motels, boardinghouses, and the like.

Dwelling, multiple (apartment) means a building designed with three or more dwelling units exclusively for occupancy by three or more families living independently of each other, but sharing hallways and main entrances and exits.

Dwelling, single-family means a dwelling unit designed exclusively for occupancy by one family.

(1)

Attached dwelling means a dwelling which is joined to another at one or more sides by a party wall.

(2)

Detached dwelling means a dwelling unit not attached to another dwelling or structure.

Dwelling, two-family means a dwelling designed exclusively for occupancy by two families living independently of each other.

(1)

Double bungalow means a two-family dwelling with two units side by side.

(2)

Duplex means a two-family dwelling with one unit above the other.

Dwelling unit means a residential building or portion thereof intended for occupancy by one family but not including hotels, motels, nursing homes, seasonal cabins, boardinghouses, roominghouses, tourist homes or trailers.

Efficiency apartment means a dwelling unit consisting of one principal room exclusive of bathroom, hallway, closets, or dining alcove.

Elderly (senior citizen) housing means a public agency owned or controlled multiple dwelling building with open occupancy limited to persons over 60 years of age.

Elevator penthouse means an enclosure located on the top of a building which houses the working mechanisms of an elevator.

Equal degree of encroachment means a method of determining the location of encroachment lines so that floodplain lands on both sides of a stream are capable of conveying a proportionate share of flood flows. This is determined by considering the effect of encroachment on the hydraulic efficiency of the floodplain along both sides of a stream for a significant reach.

Erosion means the wearing away of the ground surface as a result of movement of wind, water, ice and/or land disturbance activities.

Erosion control means a measure that prevents erosion including but not limited to: soil stabilization practices, limited grading, mulch, temporary or permanent cover, and construction phasing.

Essential services means the erection, construction, alteration, or maintenance of underground or overhead gas, electrical, steam, or water transmission or distribution systems, collection, communications, supply or disposal systems by public utilities, municipal or other governmental agencies, but not including buildings.

Family means a person living alone or any of the following groups, provided that the members of the group live together as a single housekeeping unit and do not exceed the maximum occupancy limits of the city code and/or state building code:

(1)

An individual plus one or more persons related by blood, marriage, adoption, guardianship or other duly-authorized custodial relationship, including foster children and bona fide domestic servants employed on a full-time basis by the family in the dwelling unit; or

(2)

Two unrelated people and any children related to either of them; or

(3)

One or more persons occupying a premises, subject to a limit of not more than three unrelated persons 18 years of age or older; or

(4)

Group residential facilities licensed by the Minnesota Department of Human Services.

Fence means any partition, structure, wall or gate erected as a dividing marker, barrier or enclosure and located along the boundary or with the required yard.

Filling means the act of depositing any rock, soil, gravel, sand or other material so as to fill or partly fill a water body, watercourse, wetland, or land.

Final stabilization means all soil disturbing activities at the site have been completed and a uniform (evenly distributed, without large bare areas) perennial vegetative cover with a density of 70 percent of approved vegetative cover for the area has been established on all unpaved areas and areas not covered by permanent structures, or equivalent permanent stabilization measures have been employed.

Flood means a temporary rise in stream flow or stage which results in inundation of the areas adjacent to the channel.

Flood frequency means the average frequency, statistically determined, for which it is expected that a specific flood stage or discharge may be equalled or exceeded. By strict definition, such estimates are designated as exceedance frequency, but in practice the term "frequency" is used. The frequency of a particular stage or discharge is usually expressed as having a probability of occurring once within a specific number of years.

Flood fringe means that portion of the floodplain outside of the floodway.

Flood profile means a graph or a longitudinal plot of water surface elevations of a flood event along a reach of a stream or river.

Floodplain means the areas adjoining a watercourse which have been or may be covered by the regional flood.

Floodway means the channel of the watercourse and those portions of the adjoining floodplains which are reasonably required to carry and discharge the regional flood.

Floor area means the sum of the gross horizontal areas of the several floors of the building or portion thereof devoted to a particular use, including accessory storage areas located within selling or working space such as counters, racks or closets, and any basement floor area devoted to retailing activities, to the production or processing of goods or to business or professional offices. However, the floor area shall not include basement or cellar floor area other than area devoted to retailing activities, the production or processing of goods, or to business or professional offices. The floor area of a residence shall not include the cellar area.

Garage, private means an accessory building or accessory portion of the principal building which is intended for and used to store the private passenger vehicles and trucks, not exceeding 12,000 pounds gross weight, of the family or families resident upon the premises, and in which no business service or industry is carried on.

Garage, public means a building or portion of a building, except any building defined as a private garage or as a repair garage, used for the storage of motor vehicles, or where any such vehicles are kept for remuneration or hire and in which any sale of gasoline, oil and accessories is only incidental to the principal use.

Garage sale means any display of used goods and/or salesperson's samples and sale of such goods on a property customarily used as a residence. The persons conducting the sale shall be residents of the immediate neighborhood.

Grade (adjacent ground elevation) means the lowest point of elevation of the finished surface of the ground, paving or sidewalk within the area between the building and the property line, or when the property line is more than five feet from the building, between the building and a line five feet from the building.

Grading means changing the natural or existing topography of land.

Guestroom means a room occupied by one or more guests for compensation and in which no provision is made for cooking, but not including rooms in a dormitory primarily used for sleeping purposes.

Home occupation means any occupation or profession engaged in by the occupants of the dwelling or accessory building when conducted within such dwelling or accessory building, or when conducted upon a parcel of land containing the dwelling unit, provided that evidence of the occupation is not visible from the street. The acts of gardening such parcel shall be included therein, but is excepted from the requirement that it not be visible from the street. In cases of home occupation as defined in this section there shall be no over-the-counter sale of merchandise produced off the premises, except for those products that are not marketed and sold in a wholesale or retail outlet; examples of such products include but are not limited to the following: Avon, Fuller Brush, and Shaklee products. In no instance shall the home occupation adversely affect the character of the uses permitted in the zoning district in which the property is located.

Hotel means any building or portion thereof occupied as the more or less temporary abiding place of individuals and containing six or more guestrooms used, designed or intended to be used, let or hired out to be occupied, or which are occupied, by six or more individuals for compensation, whether the compensation be paid directly or indirectly.

Impervious surface means an artificial or natural surface through which water, air, or roots cannot penetrate.

Interlock means the painted line or barrier in a parking lot that separates two facing rows of parking from one another.

Intermittent means a stream or portion of a stream that flows only in direct response to precipitation.

Land disturbing activity means any land change that may result in soil erosion from water or wind and the movement of sediments into or upon waters or lands within the city's jurisdiction, including, but not limited to, clearing, grubbing, grading, excavating, transporting and filling.

Land reclamation means the process of the reestablishment of acceptable topography, i.e., slopes, vegetative cover, soil stability and the establishment of safe conditions appropriate to the subsequent use of the land.

Lodging room means a room rented as sleeping and living quarters, but without cooking facilities and with or without an individual bathroom. In a suite of rooms without cooking facilities, each room which provides sleeping accommodation shall be counted as one lodging room.

Lodginghouse means a building, other than a hotel, where, for compensation for definite periods, lodging is provided for three or more persons not of the principal family, but not including a building providing this service for more than ten persons.

Lot means land occupied or to be occupied by a building and its accessory buildings, together with such open spaces as are required under the provisions of this chapter, having not less than the minimum area required by this chapter for a building site in the district in which such lot is situated and having its principal frontage on a street.

Lot area means the area of a horizontal plane within the lot lines.

Lot, corner means a lot situated at the junction of and abutting on two or more intersecting streets; or a lot at the point of deflection in alignment of a single street, the interior angle of which is 135 degrees or less.

Lot depth means the shortest horizontal distance between the front lot line and the rear lot line measured from a 90-degree angle from the street right-of-way within the lot boundaries.

Lot frontage means the front of a lot shall be, for purposes of complying with this chapter, that boundary abutting a public right-of-way having the least width.

Lot, interior means a lot, other than a corner lot, including through lots.

Lot line means a property boundary line of any lot held in single or separate ownership; except that, where any portion of the lot extends into the abutting street or alley, the lot line shall be deemed to be the street or alley right-of-way.

Lot of record means a parcel of land, whether subdivided or otherwise legally described, existing as of April 15, 1968, or approved by the city as a lot subsequent to such date and which is occupied by or intended for occupancy by one principal building or principal use together with any necessary buildings and such open spaces as required by this chapter and having its principal frontage upon a street.

Lot, through means a lot fronting on two parallel streets.

Lot width means the minimum required horizontal distance between the side lot lines measured at right angles to the lot depth, at the minimum building setback line.

Manufactured home means a structure, transportable in one or more sections, which in the traveling mode is eight body feet or more in width or 40 body feet or more in length or, when erected on-site, is 320 or more square feet, and which is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used as a dwelling, with or without a permanent foundation, when connected to the required utilities; and includes the plumbing, heating, air conditioning, and electrical systems contained therein; except that the term includes any structure which meets all the requirements and with respect to which the manufacturer voluntarily files a certification required by the secretary and complies with the standards established under this chapter and which meets Manufactured Home Building Code standards promulgated pursuant to M.S.A. § 327.31, subd. 3.

Medical office means a structure intended for providing medical and dental examinations and services to the public. This service does not include overnight care.

Microdistillery means a type of distillery producing premium, distilled spirits in total quantity not to exceed 40,000 proof gallons in a calendar year as regulated by Minnesota Statutes, as may be amended.

Minerals means soil, clay, stone, sand and gravel and other similar solid material or substances to be mined from natural deposits.

Mining means all or any part of the process involved in the extraction of minerals by removing the overburden and extracting directly from the mineral deposits thereby exposed.

Mobile home means a manufactured home that is less than 20 feet wide over at least 30 feet of its length in the erected mode, suitable for yearround occupancy and containing the same water supply, waste disposal and electrical conveniences as stationary housing; and subject to tax or registration under state law, and having no foundation other than wheels, jacks or skirtings. Overhangs and other projections beyond the principal exterior walls shall not be taken into account in determining the width measurement.

Model home means a home which is similar to others in a development and which is open to public inspection for the purpose of selling such other homes.

Motor freight terminal (truck terminal) means a building in which freight brought by motor truck is assembled and sorted for routing in intrastate and interstate shipment.

Motor fuel station means a place where gasoline stored only in underground tanks, kerosene or motor oil and lubricants or grease, for operation of automobiles, are retailed directly to the public on premises, and including minor accessories and services for automobiles, but not including major automobile repairs and rebuilding.

National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit means the program for issuing, modifying, revoking, reissuing, terminating, monitoring, and enforcing permits under the Clean Water Act (Sections 301, 318, 402, and 405) and United States Code of Federal Regulations Title 33, Sections 1317, 1328, 1342, and 1345.

Natural drainage system means all land surface areas which, by the nature of their contour configuration, collect, store and channel surface water runoff.

Natural obstruction means any rock, tree, gravel or analogous natural matter that is an obstruction and has been located within a water body, watercourse, or wetland by a nonhuman cause.

Natural waterway means a natural passageway in the surface of the earth so situated and having such a topographical nature that surface water flows through it from other areas before reaching a final ponding area. The term also includes all drainage structures that have been constructed or placed for the purpose of conducting water from one place to another.

Nonconforming structure or use means any structure or use which on the effective date of this chapter does not, even though lawfully established, conform to the applicable conditions if the structure or use was to be erected under the guidance of this chapter.

Normal high water mark means a continuous mark of reference at an elevation where land and water meet for some period of record; such mark is commonly that point where the natural vegetation changes from predominantly aquatic to predominantly terrestrial.

Nursing home or rest home means a building having accommodations where care is provided for two or more invalids, infirmed, aged, convalescent or physically disabled persons that are not of the immediate family; but not including hospitals, clinics, sanitariums, or similar institutions.

Obstruction (floodplain) means any storage of material or equipment, any dam, wall, wharf, embankment, levee, road, dike, pile, abutment, projection, excavation, channel rectification, culvert, building, wire, fence, stockpile, refuse, fill, deposit, clearing of trees or vegetation, structure or matter in, along, across, or projecting, in whole or in part, into any floodplain.

Off-street loading space means a space accessible from the street, alley or way, in a building or on the lot, for the use of trucks while loading or unloading merchandise or materials. Such space shall be of such size as to accommodate one truck of the type typically used in the particular business.

Open sales lot means any open land used or occupied for the purpose of buying, selling and/or renting merchandise and for the storing of merchandise prior to sale.

Ordinary high water level means the boundary of waterbasins, watercourses public waters, and wetlands, and: (1) the ordinary high water level is an elevation delineating the highest water level that has been maintained for a sufficient period of time to leave evidence upon the landscape, commonly the point where the natural vegetation changes from predominantly aquatic to predominantly terrestrial; (2) for watercourses, the ordinary high water level is the elevation of the top of the bank of the channel; and (3) for reservoirs and flowages, the ordinary high water level is the operating elevation of the normal summer pool.

Overburden means the earth, rock and other materials that lie above a natural deposit of mineral.

Owner means and includes all individuals, groups of individuals, or corporations interested in a property as fee simple owner, life estate holder, encumbrancer, or otherwise.

Parking ramp means an accessory structure designed and used for the storage of motor vehicles at, below and/or above grade.

Parking space means an area, enclosed in the main building, in an accessory building, or unenclosed, sufficient in size to store one automobile, which has adequate access to a public street or alley and permitting satisfactory ingress and egress of an automobile.

Perimeter sediment control means a barrier that prevents sediment from leaving a site by filtering sediment-laden runoff or diverting it to a sediment trap or basin.

Permanent cover means final site stabilization. Examples include turf, gravel, asphalt, and concrete.

Permitted use means a use which may be lawfully established in a particular district or districts, provided it conforms with all requirements, regulations, and performance standards, if any, of such districts.

Phasing means clearing a parcel of land in distinct phases, with the stabilization of each phase completed before the clearing of the next.

Principal use means the main use of land or buildings as distinguished from subordinate or accessory uses. A principal use may be either permitted or conditional.

Professional office means an establishment located within a building or portion of a building for the conduct of business activities involving predominantly professional administrative or clerical service operations including attorneys, financial advisors, insurance, travel, real estate, and other uses of similar character

Professional service means an establishment or shop that provides useful labor, maintenance, repair and activities incidental to business production or distribution where the customer patronizes the location of the operation, such as banks, barbers, beauty salons, copy centers, laundromats, dry cleaners, tailor shops, shoe repair, massage, and tanning salons.

Public uses means uses owned or operated by municipal, school districts, county, state, or other governmental units.

Public waters means any waters of the state which serve a beneficial public purpose, as defined in M.S.A. § 103G.005, subd. 15 (1996) as amended.

Public waterway means a body of water, including, but not limited to lakes, ponds, rivers, streams, and bodies of water delineated by the city or other state or federal agency.

Public water wetlands are wetlands as defined in M.S.A. § 103G.005, subd. 15a (1996) as amended, and include all types 3,4, and 5 wetlands as defined in United States Fish and Wildlife Service Circular No. 39 (1971 edition), not included within the definition of public waters, that are ten or more acres in size in unincorporated areas or two-and-one-half or more acres in incorporated areas.

Quadraminium means a single structure which contains four separately owned dwelling units, all of which have individually separate entrances.

Recreation field or building means an area of land, water, or any building in which amusement, recreation or athletic sports are provided for public or semipublic use, whether temporary or permanent, except a theatre, whether provision is made for the accommodation of an assembly or not. A golf course, arena, baseball park, stadium, circus or gymnasium is a recreation field or building for the purpose of this chapter.

Recreational vehicle means a self-propelled vehicle which is used primarily for recreational purposes.

Regional flood means a flood which is representative of large floods known to have occurred generally in the state and reasonably characteristic of what can be expected to occur on an average frequency in the magnitude of the 100-year recurrence interval.

Regulatory flood protection elevation means a point not less than one foot above the elevation of the floodplain, plus any increases in flood heights attributable to encroachments on the floodplain. It is the elevation to which uses regulated by this chapter are required to be elevated or floodproofed.

Restaurant means an establishment which serves food in or on nondisposable dishes to be consumed primarily while seated at tables or booths within the building.

Roof line means the top of the coping; or, when the building has a pitched roof, means the intersection of the outside wall with the roof.

Screening means a physical device, such as earth mounds, berms or ground forms; fences and walls; landscaping (plant materials) or landscaped fixtures; used in combination or singularly to block direct visual access to an object throughout the year.

Sediment means the product of an erosion process; solid material both mineral and organic, that is in suspension, is being transported, or has been moved by water, air, or ice, and has come to rest on the earth's surface either above or below water level.

Sediment control means the measures and methods employed to prevent sediment from leaving the site. Sediment control practices include silt fences, sediment traps, earth dikes, drainage swales, check dams, subsurface drains, pipe slope drains, storm drain inlet protection and temporary or permanent sedimentation basins.

Service business, off site means an establishment that provides labor, maintenance, repair and activities incidental to business production or distribution where the service is provided at the customer's location, including delivery, catering, electrical, plumbing and sewer, landscaping, appliance repair, and other service uses of similar character.

Setback means the minimum horizontal distance between a building and the lot line. Distances are to be measured from the most outwardly extended portion of the structure at ground level, except as provided in this chapter.

Shopping center means an integrated grouping of commercial stores under single ownership or control.

Signs means the use of any words, numerals, figures, devices or trademarks which are visible to the general public and by which anything is made known, including the following types and conditions:

Address sign means a sign communicating street address only, whether script or in numerical form.

Advertising sign means a billboard, poster panel, painted bulletin board, or other communicative device which is used to advertise products, goods and/or services which are not exclusively related to the premises on which the sign is located.

Area identification sign means a freestanding sign which identifies the name of a residential subdivision consisting of 50 or more lots; a multiple residential complex consisting of three or more structures; an office, business or industrial structure containing three or more independent concerns; a single business and/or industrial complex consisting of three or more separate structures existing on individual platted lots or as a planned unit development; a mobile home court; or any integrated combination of the above. Such sign shall be limited only to the identification of an area or complex and shall not contain the name of individual owners or tenants nor contain advertising.

Awning means a temporary hood or cover which projects from the wall of a building, and of a type which can be retracted, folded or collapsed against the face of a supporting building.

Banners means attention-getting devices which resemble flags and are of a paper, cloth or plastic like consistency.

Bench sign means a sign which is affixed to a bench such as at a bus stop.

Business sign means any sign which identifies a business or group of businesses, either retail or wholesale, or any sign which identifies a profession or is used in the identification or promotion of any principal commodity or service, including entertainment, offered or sold upon the premises where such sign is located.

Campaign sign means a temporary sign promoting the candidacy of a person running for a governmental office, or promoting an issue to be voted on at a governmental election.

Canopy sign means any message or identification which is affixed to a projection or extension of a building or structure, erected in such a manner as to provide a shelter or cover over the approach to any entrance of a store, building or place of assembly.

Construction sign means a sign placed at a construction site identifying the project or the name of the architect, engineer, contractor, financier or other involved parties.

Directional sign means a sign erected on public or private property which bears the address and/or name of a business, institution, church or other use or activity plus directional arrows or information on location.

Directory sign means an exterior informational wall sign which identifies the names of businesses served by a common public entrance in a shopping center.

Flashing sign means an illuminated sign upon which the artificial light is not kept constant in terms of intensity or color at all times when the sign is illuminated.

Freestanding sign means any stationary or portable self-supporting sign not affixed to any other structure.

Governmental sign means a sign which is erected by a governmental unit for the purpose of identification and directing or guiding of traffic.

Illuminated sign means any sign which is lighted by an artificial light source either directed upon it or illuminated from an interior source.

Information sign means any sign giving information to employees, visitors or delivery vehicles, but containing no advertising or identification.

Institutional sign means a sign which identifies the name and other characteristics of a public or semipublic institution on the site where the sign is located.

Integral sign means a sign carrying the name of a building, its date of erection, monumental citations, commemorative tablets and the like when carved into stone, concrete or similar material or made of bronze, aluminum or other permanent type of construction and made an integral part of the structure.

Motion sign means any sign which revolves, rotates, has any moving parts or gives the illusion of motion.

Nonconforming signs includes the following:

(1) Legal means a sign which lawfully existed at the time of the passage of this chapter or amendment thereto but which does not conform with the regulations of this chapter.

(2) Illegal means a sign which was constructed after the passage of this chapter or amendments thereto and does not conform with the regulations of this chapter.

Portable sign means a sign so designed as to be movable from one location to another and which is not permanently attached to the ground, sales display device, or structure.

Projecting sign means a sign, other than a wall sign, which is affixed to a building and which extends perpendicular from the building wall.

Real estate sign means a business sign placed upon a property advertising that particular property for sale, for rent or for lease.

Roof sign means any sign which is erected, constructed or attached wholly or in part upon or over the roof of a building.

Rummage sale sign means an infrequent temporary display and sale by an occupant on his premises of personal property, including general household rummage, used clothing and appliances.

Setback within the boundaries of the RD river development district means the minimum horizontal distance between a structure, or road and one, or all, of the following: the ordinary high water level and the top of bluff.

Sign area means that area within the marginal lines of the surface which bears the advertisement or, in the case of messages, figures or symbols attached directly to the part of a building, that area which is included in the smallest rectangle or series of geometric figures which can be made to circumscribe the message, figure or symbol display thereon.

Sign, maximum height of means the vertical distance measured from the street grade to the top of such a sign.

Sign, minimum height of means the vertical distance measured from the nearest finished grade to the lower limit of such sign.

Sign, structure means the supports, uprights, bracing and framework for a sign including the sign area.

Temporary sign means any sign which is erected or displayed for a specified period of time.

Wall graphics means a sign which is painted directly on an exterior wall surface.

Wall sign means a sign which is affixed to the exterior wall of a building and which is parallel to the building wall. A wall sign does not project more than 12 inches from the surface to which it is attached, nor extend beyond the top of the parapet wall.

Window sign means a sign affixed to or inside of a window in view of the general public. This does not include merchandise on display.

Slope means the degree of deviation of a surface from the horizontal, usually expressed in percent or degrees.

Stabilized means the exposed ground surface has been covered by appropriate materials such as mulch, staked sod, riprap, wood fiber blanket, or other material that prevents erosion from occurring. Grass seeding is not stabilization.

Stormwater is defined under Minnesota Rules, part 7077.0105, subp. 41(b), and includes precipitation runoff, storm water runoff, snow melt runoff, and any other surface runoff and drainage.

Stormwater Pollution Prevention Program (SWPPP) means a program for managing and reducing storm water discharge that includes erosion prevention measures and sediment controls that, when implemented, will decrease soil erosion on a parcel of land and decrease off-site nonpoint pollution.

Story means that portion of a building including beneath the upper surface of a floor and upper surface of floor next above, except that the topmost story shall be that portion of a building included between the upper surface of the topmost floor and the ceiling or roof above. If the finished floor level directly above a basement or cellar or unused underfloor space is more than six feet above grade for more than 50 percent of the total perimeter or is more than 12 feet above grade at any point, such basement, cellar, or unused underfloor space shall be considered a story.

Street means a public right-of-way affording primary access by pedestrians or vehicles, or both, to abutting properties, whether designated as a street, highway, thoroughfare, parkway, road, avenue, or boulevard.

Street designations:

(1)

Thoroughfares, arterial streets means those streets carrying larger volumes of traffic and serving as links between various subareas of the community. Thoroughfares or arterial streets are intended to provide for collection and distribution of traffic between highways and collector streets; hence regulation of direct access to property is critical.

(2)

Collector street means those streets which carry traffic from local streets to the major system of arterials and highways. Collector streets primarily provide principal access to residential neighborhoods, including, to a lesser degree, direct land access.

(3)

Local streets means those streets which are used primarily for access to abutting properties and for local traffic movement.

Street frontage means the proximity of a parcel of land to one or more streets. An interior lot has one street frontage and a corner lot has two frontages.

Structure means anything which is built, constructed or erected; an edifice or building of any kind; or any piece of work artificially built up and/or composed of parts joined together in some definite manner, whether temporary or permanent in character.

Subdivision means a described tract of land which is to be or has been divided into two or more lots or parcels for the purpose of transfer of ownership, building development, or for tax assessment purposes. The term includes resubdivision and, where appropriate to the context, relates to either the process of subdividing, or to the land subdivided, or to the development for which it is being subdivided.

Surface waters or waters means all streams, lakes, ponds, marshes, wetlands, reservoirs, springs, rivers, drainage systems, waterways, watercourses, and irrigation systems whether natural or artificial, public or private.

Taproom means an area for the on-sale consumption of malt liquor produced by the brewer for consumption on the premises of a brewery or an abutting property in common ownership of the brewer, which may include sales of malt liquor produced and packaged at the brewery for off-premises consumption as allowed by Minnesota Statutes, as may be amended.

Tavern means an establishment that principally provides sale of alcoholic beverages for consumption on site.

Temporary erosion control means methods employed to prevent erosion. Examples of temporary cover include: straw, wood fiber blanket, wood chips, and erosion netting.

Townhouses means structures housing three or more dwelling units contiguous to each other only by the sharing of one common wall, such structures to be of the townhouse or rowhouse type as contrasted to multiple dwelling apartment structures. Each dwelling unit shall have separate and individual front and rear entrances.

Usable open space means a required ground area or terrace area on a lot which is graded, developed, landscaped and equipped and intended and maintained for either active or passive recreation or both, available and accessible to and usable by all persons occupying a dwelling unit or rooming unit on the lot and their guests. Such areas shall be grassed and landscaped or covered only for a recreational purpose. Roofs, driveways and parking areas shall not constitute usable open space.

Use means the purpose or activity for which the land or building thereon is designated, arranged, or intended, or for which it is occupied, utilized or maintained, and shall include the performance of such activity as defined by the performance standards of this chapter.

Utility facility means physical facilities of electric, telephone, telegraph, cable television, water, sewer, solid waste, gas, and similar service operations.

Variance means the waiving by action of the board of adjustment and appeals of the literal provisions of this chapter in instances where their strict enforcement would cause undue hardship because of physical circumstances unique to the individual property under consideration.

Vegetation means the sum total of plant life in some area; or a plant community with distinguishable characteristics.

Water body means a body of water (lake, pond, etc.) in a depression of land or expanded part of a river, or an enclosed basin that holds water and is surrounded by land.

Water conveyance channel means any channel that conveys surface runoff throughout the site.

Watercourse means a channel or depression through which water flows, such as rivers, streams, and creeks, and may flow yearround or intermittently.

Watershed means the area drained by the natural and artificial drainage system, bounded peripherally by a bridge or stretch of high land dividing drainage areas.

Waterway means any natural or artificial channel including associated flood plains which provide a course for water flowing either continuously or intermittently.

Wetland or wetlands is defined in Minnesota Rules, part 7050.0130, subp. F and includes those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface water or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas. Constructed wetlands designed for wastewater treatment are not waters of the state.

Yard means an open space on the lot which is unoccupied and unobstructed from its lowest level to the sky. A yard extends along a lot line at right angles to such lot line to a depth or width specified in the yard regulations for the zoning district in which such lot is located.

Yard, front means that area extending along the full length of a front lot line between side lot lines and to the depth required in the yard regulations for the district in which it is located. In the case of a corner lot abutting one or more major roads, both yards shall be considered front yards. A major road is any road that is of a collector designation or greater.

Yard, rear means a yard extending across the full width of the lot and lying between the rear line of the lot and the nearest line of the principal building.

Yard, side means a yard between the side line of the lot and the nearest line of the principal building and extending from the front line of the lot to the rear yard.

(Code 1982, § 15.04; Ord. No. 569, 7-17-00; Ord. No. 647, § 3, 5-18-09; Ord. No. 653, § 1, 2-16-10; Ord. No. 700, § 1, 9-16-13; Ord. No. 702, § 2, 10-21-13; Ord. No. 716, § 1, 4-20-15; Ord. No. 727, § 1, 5-16-16; Ord. No. 768, §§ 1, 2, 10-16-23; Ord. No. 769, § 1, 2-20-24)

Cross reference— Definitions generally, § 1-2.