SECTION 1201.01  SHORT TITLE:

This  Ordinance  shall  be  known  and  may  be  cited  as  "The  Sunfish  Lake  Zoning Ordinance."

SECTION 1201.02  PURPOSE:

This is an Ordinance for the purpose of promoting and protecting the public health, safety and general welfare, by regulating the location, size of buildings and other structures; the percentage of lot which may be occupied; the size of yards and other open spaces; the density and distribution of population; the uses of buildings and structures; and the use of land.

SECTION 1201.03  INTENT:

To protect the public, such provisions are intended to provide for adequate light and air, safety from fire and other danger; prevent undue concentration of population; provide ample parking facilities; regulate the location and operation of land uses; preserve property values by providing for orderly and compatible development of the various land uses; encourage energy conversation and the use of renewable energy resources; provide  for  administration  of  this  Ordinance;  provide  for  amendments  hereto;  and provide for official recording of this Ordinance and all amendments hereto.

SECTION 1201.04  RELATION TO COMPREHENSIVE MUNICIPAL PLAN:

It is the policy of the City of Sunfish Lake that the enforcement, amendment, and administration of this Ordinance be accomplished with due consideration of the recommendations contained in the City Comprehensive Plan as developed and amended from time to time by the Planning Commission and City Council of the City. The Council recognizes the City Comprehensive Plan as the policy to regulate land use and development in accordance with the policies and purpose herein set forth.

SECTION 1201.05  STANDARD REQUIREMENTS:

A. More Restrictive Provisions to Govern:   Where the conditions imposed by any provisions of this Ordinance are either more restrictive or less restrictive than comparable conditions imposed by any other law, ordinance, code, statute, resolution or regulation, the regulations which are more restrictive or impose higher standards or requirements shall prevail.

B. Interpretation:    In  their  interpretation  and  application,  the  provisions  of  this Ordinance shall be held to be the minimum requirements for the promotion of the public health, safety and general welfare.

C. Conformity With This Ordinance:   No  building or structure  shall be  erected, converted, enlarged, constructed, reconstructed, moved or altered, and no building, structure or land shall be used for any purpose nor in any manner which is not in conformity with the provisions of this Ordinance and without a building permit being issues when required by this Ordinance.

D. Building  Occupancy:    Except  as  herein  provided,  no  building,  structure  or premises shall hereafter be used or occupied and no building permit shall be granted that does not conform to the requirements of this Ordinance.

E. Non-Reduction of Yards or Lots:  No yard or lot existing at the time of passage of this Ordinance shall be reduced in dimension or area below the minimum requirements set forth herein.  Yards or lots created after the effective date of this Ordinance shall meet at least the minimum requirements established by this Ordinance.

F. Regulation Application:  In their application, these regulations shall not abrogate any easement, covenant, or any other private agreement where such is legally enforceable, provided, that where the regulations of this Ordinance are more restrictive, or impose higher standards or requirements than such easements, covenants, or other private agreements, the requirements of this Ordinance shall be controlling.

SECTION 1201.06  CONDITIONAL USES:

Any established use or building legally existing prior to the establishment of this Ordinance and which is herein classified as a conditional use may be continued in like fashion  and  activity  and  shall  automatically  be  considered  as  having  received conditional use permit approval.  Any change to such a use, or any other subsequently approved conditional use, shall however, require a new conditional use permit be processed according to this Ordinance.

SECTION 1201.07  MONUMENTS:

For the purpose of this Ordinance, all international, federal, state, county and other official monuments, benchmarks, triangulation points, and stations shall be preserved in their precise locations; and it shall be responsibility of the applicant to insure that these markers are maintained in good condition during and following construction and development.  All section, 1/4 section and 1/16 section corners shall be duly described and tied.

SECTION 1201.08  USES NOT PROVIDED WITHIN ZONING DISTRICTS:

Whenever in any zoning district a use is neither specifically allowed nor denied, the use shall be considered prohibited.   In such cases, 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 this Ordinance to provide for the particular use under consideration or shall find that the use is not compatible for development within the City.

SECTION 1201.09  SEPARABILITY:

It is hereby declared to be the intention of the City that the several provisions of this

Ordinance are separable in accordance with the following:

A. If  any  court  of  competent  jurisdiction  shall  adjudge  any  provision  of  this Ordinance to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect any other provisions of this Ordinance not specifically included in said judgment.

B. If any court of competent jurisdiction shall adjudge invalid the application of any provision of this Ordinance to a particular property, building, or other structure, such judgment shall not affect the application of said provision to any other property, building, or structure not specifically included in said judgment.

20, 24, 26, 29 SECTION 1201.10  SCHEDULES OF ADMINISTRATIVE FEES, CHARGES AND EXPENSES:

The Council does hereby establish a schedule of fees, charges and expenses and a collection procedure for zoning applications, building permits, variances, conditional uses, appeals, site plan approvals and other matters as set forth in this Section.  The schedule of fees may be altered or amended only by the Council.  The following fees and escrow amounts apply to the matters as so identified:

1 The applicant is required to pay a base fee and escrow deposit to be charged against the time and expenses necessary to process the request.  The base fee will be applied to the project costs if the project proceeds completely through the review process, however, is non-refundable if a project is abandoned midway through the process.   If the review and consideration of the request exceeds the cost covered by the escrow deposit as a consequence of lack of information, site or design problems, or questions raised by the staff, Planning Commission, or City Council, all processing of the request will be halted until an estimation of completion is determined and a new escrow deposit made.

Following the City's decision on the request, the City Treasurer will refund any portion of the escrow deposit remaining or bill the applicant for the balance due.  Permit and site inspection fees are separate from and in addition to the base fee and escrow required to process a planning/zoning request.

2   All fees must be paid at the time of application and any additional fees required as stipulated in 1 above shall be paid before issuance of a certificate of occupancy permit. If payment is not received from the applicant, the property owner is liable for the unpaid fee balance either by direct payment or a special assessment against the property.

3  Depending on the issues of a project, additional site inspections may be required by individual City consultants and will be billed on a time and materials basis.

If work, construction, or improvements have begun prior to the landowner receiving a required land use approval (such as a re-zoning, conditional use permit, interim use permit, variance or site plan approval), then in addition to the fees set forth above, the landowner or applicant must pay an additional fee of $250.00; this additional fee is for the purpose of defraying the City’s administrative and documentation costs in (a) verifying the condition of the property prior to the work (b) verifying and documenting the work that was performed prior to obtaining the requisite approval and (c) analyzing whether the work already performed complies with the City Code standards and the conditions that may be imposed as part of the approval process.  Further, the landowner or applicant shall reimburse the City for all legal, planning, forestry and engineering costs incurred by the City relating to the tasks of verifying, documenting and analyzing the prior work.

SECTION 1201.11  AUTHORITY:

This Ordinance is enacted pursuant to the authority granted by the Municipal Planning

Act, Minnesota Statutes, Section 462.351 to 462.363.

SECTION 1201.12  COMPREHENSIVE REVISION:

The Council intends this Ordinance to be a comprehensive revision to Chapter XII of the City Code and all other ordinances inconsistent with this Ordinance, as amended.  Any act done, offense committed, or rights accruing or accrued, or liability, penalty incurred or imposed prior to the effective date of this Ordinance is not affected by its enactment.