A document entitled "Property Owner Reference & Development Guide", otherwise known as the Design Guidelines, was distributed to all property owners in April 1999. For additional copies, contact City Planner at (763) 231-2555. 

Introduction. The following information is intended to assist applicants with understanding the process in which a planning/zoning request is considered. Our goal is to make the review and approval process as economical and efficient as possible. Every resident and future resident of Sunfish Lake should have a Property Owner Reference & Development Guide in their possession. Guides contain a summary of Sunfish Lake Planning Policies, Code Requirements, and Design Guidelines. Guides may be obtained from the City Planner.

Application/City Meeting. A staff meeting with the City Planner is strongly recommended for all types of proposals prior to processing of the application and payment of fees to help explain ordinance requirements, identify the details of the request, review concept plans, provide advice, and potentially avoid any unnecessary plan modifications or site design related conflicts. Building Code information can be obtained from the City Building Official, and grading and drainage issues may be discussed with the City Engineer .

Required Fees/Escrow Deposit. A copy of the most current filing fees and escrow deposit amounts required by the City have been provided for your reference. The City of Sunfish Lake operates on a pass-through fee system whereby all review costs related to the processing of requests are the property owner’s responsibility rather than that of the tax paying residents. All fees must be paid at the time of application. City Staff will make every effort to keep costs at a minimum. You can have a great impact on controlling these costs by submitting complete and comprehensive documents, plans, and designs which directly respond to the application procedures which have been outlined. Incomplete submittals result in increased review time, unnecessary costs for the applicant and may also result in rejection of an application.

Your signature on the application obligates you to pay any and all fees which are incurred from the time of application submittal through project completion. The fee payment and escrow deposit are applied to the project costs when you proceed through the entire process and complete the project. However, if a project is abandoned before approval or completion the fee amount is retained by the City and you owe the outstanding balance. Denial of a project does not negate the review costs generated or money owed. The escrow deposit is simply a reasonable estimate of project review costs based upon the average cost of past similar projects. It is not uncommon for the actual project cost to vary higher or lower than that indicated, as necessary work varies by site and project. You may be asked to submit another deposit prior to approval of your project, depending upon individual circumstances.

You will be billed monthly by the City Treasurer and provided with a detailed itemization of project review costs. Certificates of occupancy shall not be issued until all outstanding bills owed to the City which were generated through application review, approval, and inspection of the project by City Consultants have been paid in full. Incomplete applications, lack of required plans or detailed information, changes in original plans, and additional site inspections needed due to site design, installation or enforcement problems will add significant cost to the project. We will do everything we can to help you avoid these problems from the onset.

Property Owner Notification. All site/building plan, preliminary/final plat, conditional/interim use permit, administrative permit, variance, rezoning or amendment requests in the City require that property owners adjacent to or who may be affected by the request be notified. The City Planner is responsible for identifying and notifying property owners via mail (postmarked) at least 10 days prior to the Planning Commission meeting. Persons notified of the request may include those fee owners/parcels adjacent to or separated from the subject property who/which may be impacted by physical, visual, noise or other factors. This will be done at costs to the applicant and should an application be withdrawn or continued to future meetings, property owners will be renotified.

Public Meetings. The City of Sunfish Lake holds Planning Commission meetings on the 3rd Wednesday of each month and City Council meetings are held on the 1st Tuesday of every month at which time requests may be heard, provided the application, materials, and payment of fees/deposits have been found to be complete. The designated location of both meetings is St. Anne’s Church, 2035 Charlton Road, Sunfish Lake. The scheduled time for Planning Commission meetings is 7:00 PM while City Council meetings are held at 7:30 PM. Actual meeting dates and times should be verified with City Staff, as holidays sometimes necessitate a change and each request must be included on a meeting agenda. The property owner or building representative such as a contractor or architect must be present at the meetings unless otherwise informed by the City Planner.

Timetable. Completed applications must be received at the City Planners’ office not less than 15 working days prior to the next regular Planning Commission meeting date for which hearing of a request is desired. If additional materials are requested by City Staff after initial review of the application, they must be received no less than ten (10) working days prior to the meeting. After Planning Commission hearing of the request, they have up to 30 days to make recommendation to the Mayor and City Council, whereupon the City Council will place the application on the agenda of its next regular meeting.

Plan Approval/Changes. Approval of a request may only be granted by the City Council, except for minor site plan reviews and administative permits which do not require public hearings and may be reviewed and approved by the City Planner. The City Planner, Engineer, and other consultants make recommendations to the City Council regarding the approval or denial of a project based upon the established Ordinances and individual circumstances. The final decision always rests with the City Council who may or may not concur with the consultant(s) recommend- ation.

The City Council approves projects based upon the information submitted at the time of application as well as additional conditions which may be attached to the project. Following formal action by the City Council, a Findings of Fact document is prepared which outlines the specifics of the project. the City Planner or Building Inspector must be notified of any deviation from approved plans. If the changes are significant, the project may have to be reviewed again by the City Council.

Site Inspections. All building and improvement projects within Sunfish Lake require up to three site inspections before a certificate of occupancy and formal approval will be given. The inspections are required prior to project start and when the project is complete. It is the contractor’s and/or property owner’s responsibility to notify the City Planner of these stages when a site inspection is to occur. A meeting will be set up on the project site with the City Planner, the City Engineer, the property owner, contractor/builder, City Building Official and other staff when needed. In some cases, the City Planner may waive attendance by one or more individuals if site circumstances, conditions of project approval, past performance, etc. warrant such.

The inspections are separate from other inspections that may be necessary by the City Building Inspector, City Septic System Inspector, City Engineer, or other individuals. The cost of site inspections is $75 each and payment of this amount shall be the responsibility of the property owner, but payment through (and by) the contractor or applicant is acceptable.

Security Deposit. At the final site inspection, any work not yet complete or any conditions of approval not yet met will be evaluated. The City will then make a determination as to whether a security deposit or letter of credit will be required before the certificate of occupancy or formal approval is given. This will apply to primarily site design issues such as grading, seeding/sodding or erosion control, perimeter landscaping or screening, and drainage issues related to lakes or wetlands which many times cannot be addressed or completed during times of bad weather. However, utilization of a security deposit or letter of credit is not necessarily limited to these items and may also be used to ensure that other aspects of the project are completed properly and in a timely fashion.

Contractor/Property Owner Penalties. Contractors, builders, and/or property owners shall be responsible for utility lines which are damaged or broken within the City during site work and construction. The cost to repair a broken utility line will be the individuals responsibility and a $1,000 fee may be charged if utility lines such as gas lines or downed power lines require emergency vehicle assistance. As is the case with other fees and review costs owed, the City reserves the right to charge costs or fees for utility line repair as an assessment against the property if not paid.