Ch10.§3-4 · City of Nowthen public records

A. Property lines at street intersections shall be rounded with a radius as required by the City Council, but not less than ten (10) feet. B. Street names shall be subject to the Anoka County Name and Numbering System. C. Residential blocks shall normally be of sufficient width for two (2) tiers of lots. Block lengths shall be determined by circulation and other needs, with lengths up to one thousand three hundred twenty (1,320) feet permissible when approved by the City Council.   D. Lots running across a block from street to street should not be used unless rears of such lots abut a major thoroughfare or trunk highway where limitation of access is desired. A screen planting easement, with right of access across it to the highway or thoroughfare denied, shall be provided when deemed necessary by the City Council, with a width as approved by the City Council, but not less than ten (10) feet. E Each lot shall have a minimum of one hundred fifty (150) feet of frontage on a public street for general accessibility, emergency fire vehicle access, refuse collection, and delivery purposes, as required by Zoning Ordinance. F. Direct vehicular access from individual lots to arterial and collector streets shall be discouraged and may be prohibited by the City Council where the provision of local street access is feasible. In such cases where direct lot access is allowed, special traffic safety measures including, but not limited to, provisions for on-site vehicle turn around and emergency fire vehicle access, shall be required. G. Flag Lots and Access Easements: Flag lots and access easements shall generally not be permitted, except under unique circumstances and through approval of a Conditional Use Permit where practical difficulties can be shown to exist due to natural features, physical constraints, or existing street and lot arrangements. If the justification for the approval of flag lots exists, the following minimum flag lot standards shall apply: 1\. Flag lots and access easements shall only be allowed in residential zoning districts. 2\. The creation of a flag lot should not prevent the possibility of future development of other adjacent or interior parcels without a public street being extended to them through the parcel for which the flag lot is requested. 3\. The potential negative impacts on neighboring property values are considered, including but not limited to privacy and visual impact, and the subdivision will not have an adverse impact on existing or future residences in the vicinity. Screening may be required via vegetation and/or fencing. 4\. Not more than one (1) flag lot may be created as part of any minor subdivision or subdivisions involving up to ten (10) lots. In subdivisions involving ten (10) or more lots, no more than ten (10) percent of the lots may be flag lots. 5\. All minimum front, side and rear setbacks for principal and accessory structures can be met on the flag or new lot as well as the parcel from which the lot was split. All setbacks shall be measured from that point where the "flag pole" portion of the flag lot (or the access easement in existing   situations) ends. Both lots must be large enough to accommodate the number and square footage of accessory structures as allowed in the Zoning Ordinance. 6\. An existing flag lot or lot provided access via an existing easement may not be split without the provision of public street access. Direct access to a public street and ownership of the "flag pole" portion of a flag lot is required. New access easements are prohibited. 7\. For lots which will gain access from a local roadway, any new driveway access must be separated from other driveways a distance equal to one- half (1/2) the minimum lot frontage requirement of the zoning district in which it is located unless otherwise approved by the City Council. 8\. The width of the "flag pole" or access drive may be no less than sixty-six (66) feet, except as may be allowed by the City Council in situations where no possibility of street extension exists, the width may be reduced to thirty- three (33) feet. No structures of any kind may be built within the "flag pole" portion of the lot or within easements. 9\. The driveway surfacing, clearance and radius must be designed to accommodate emergency fire vehicles. 10\. The address of the flag lot (or existing parcels accessed via an easement) must be clearly visible from the public street. 11\. Drainage and utility easements shall be provided as required herein (Item L of this subsection) or as recommended by the City Engineer and approved by the City Council. The final plat or certificate of survey must include a driveway plan and utility plan. 12\. The City Council may require the driveway(s) to be paved or require installation of curb, gutter and other drainage control measures to prevent runoff from entering neighboring properties. 13\. If a shared driveway is proposed, a driveway maintenance agreement shall be recorded with Anoka County which insures perpetual shared maintenance and repair of the accessway among property owners. 14\. The Zoning Administrator and/or City Clerk have the authority to reduce the required escrow amount(s) for subdivision and coinciding flag lot applications. (Ordinance 2013-03, adopted April 9, 2013; Ordinance 2015- 03, adopted August 11, 2015; Ordinance 2015-03, adopted August 11, 2015)   H. Minimum lot areas and widths shall be according to existing zoning regulations and other applicable regulations with wider corner lots and with whatever additional size shall be deemed required for sanitary water supply and sewage disposal, adequate drainage, and flood control. I. In the subdividing of any land, due regard shall be shown for all natural features, such as tree growth, water courses, historic spots or similar conditions, which, if preserved, will add attractiveness and stability to the proposed development. J. All remnants of lots below minimum size left over after subdivision of a larger tract must be added to adjacent lots, rather than allowed to remain as unusable parcels or outlots. K. Side lot lines shall be at right angles or radial to street lines, with slight variation under difficult conditions permissible, with City Council approval. L. Easements shall be provided where necessary for drainage, future utilities, screen planting, trail construction or other purposes. Where a subdivision is traversed by a water course, drainage way, channel, or stream, there shall be provided a storm water easement or drainage right-of-way conforming substantially with the lines of such water course, together with such further width or construction or both, as will be adequate for storm water runoff. Easements for drainage purposes shall be not less than twenty (20) feet in width. In the case of a county ditch, the subdivider shall be required to dedicate a one hundred (100) foot total width of easement. M. Reserve strips preventing access to streets shall not be used unless their control is by the City under conditions approved by the City Council. N. No plan will be approved for a subdivision which covers an area subject to periodic flooding or which contains extremely poor drainage facilities and which would make adequate drainage of the streets and lots impossible or difficult, unless the subdivider agrees to make improvements which will, in the opinion of the City Engineer, make the area completely safe for occupancy, and provide adequate street and lot drainage. O. Where a proposed park or playground shown in the Comprehensive Plan is located in whole or in part within a proposed subdivision, the area of such proposed park or playground shall be designated as such upon the subdivision plat and not subdivided into lots. If the land included in the subdivision is appropriate for residential uses, the City Council may require that the said area designated for parks and playgrounds be set aside and dedicated to the public for public use as a park and playground as authorized by Section 462.358 of Minnesota Statutes. City Council shall annually establish a park dedication fee in lieu of land dedication that applies to each lot formed within the City.   P. Trail easements shall be dedicated within or adjacent to all subdivisions. Trails shall be provided to create a continuous trail system within the subdivision and connecting to other adjacent properties. Trail easements shall be provided on at least one side of all streets and as other locations deemed appropriate by the City Council. Trail easements shall be a minimum twenty (20) feet wide. Q. The planting of trees, type, spacing, etc., on public property shall be subject to the regulations of the City. No planting gateways, entrances, and similar improvements shall be made on public property except with permission and approval of the City Council. R. All land within a subdivision must be contiguous. (Ordinance #2, adopted November 14, 2006; Ordinance 2013-03, adopted April 9, 2013) 10-3-5: LOT BUILDABILITY STANDARDS: Any newly created lot after the effective date of this Section must meet the following criteria upon final grading to be considered as a buildable site by City standards: A. Gross Land Area Required: <table> <tr> <th rowspan="2">Subdivision Type</th> <th colspan="2">Gross Land Area (per lot)</th> <th colspan="2">Gross Density (of subdivision area)</th> </tr> <tr> <th>RRA Zoning</th> <th>RRT Zoning</th> <th>RRA Zoning</th> <th>RRT Zoning</th> </tr> <tr> <td>Unplatted land, divisions by metes and bounds, Minor Subdivisions</td> <td>5.0 acres</td> <td>2.0 acres</td> <td>5.0 acres</td> <td>2.0 acres</td> </tr> <tr> <td></td> <td></td> <td></td> <td></td> <td></td> </tr> <tr> <td>Platted Lots</td> <td>2.5 acres</td> <td>2.0 acres</td> <td>5.0 acres</td> <td>2.0 acres</td> </tr> </table> B. All lots must have at least a one (1) acre contiguous net buildable parcel at the proposed building site that meets the following physical characteristics: 1\. A minimum of twenty-three thousand (23,000) square feet of land area with a three (3) foot separation between the final surface elevation of the lot and the highest known water table. The balance of the acre is to have at least a one (1) foot separation consisting of only existing natural soils. The basement floor elevation should maintain a one (1) foot separation above mottled soil. 2\. The highest known water table is to be determined by soil borings indicating mottled soil. The minimum boring depth shall be six (6) feet.   3\. The entire acre is to have an average slope of twelve percent (12%) or less. Lots with slope in excess of twelve percent (12%) will be subject to review by the City Engineer. 4\. The site is to have soils with physical properties and percolation rates suitable for the construction of an onsite sewage disposal system conforming to City and State standards, and the structural capacity to support normal buildings, driveways, and usable yards. Each site is to include an area situated as to provide for at least one (1) additional drainfield site. 5\. The City Engineer may allow deviation from these separations if the applicant submits evidence certified by a licensed geotechnical engineer that a lesser separation can be achieved. Certification by a licensed geotechnical engineer shall include field monitoring of the groundwater with piezometers over a period of 30-60 days to establish the highest anticipated ground water elevation or equivalent method. Piezometer: an instrument for measuring the pressure of a liquid or gas; a shallow well or standpipe often used in boreholes to monitor the pressure or depth of groundwater. C. All lots must be at least three hundred (300) feet in width and depth at the building setback line, and front on publicly dedicated street as shown on the Official Zoning Map. (Ordinance #2, adopted November 14, 2006) 10-3-6: REQUIREMENT FOR ALTERNATIVE DRAINFIELD SITE: On each newly created lot in the City, there shall be an area preserved for the construction of two (2) drainfields. The area set aside for these drainfields shall be of a size and so located that drainfields can be constructed that will meet all standards as included in Chapter 9, Section 3 of the City Code. (Ordinance #2, adopted November 14, 2006) 10-3-7: TREE PROTECTION: All subdivisions shall be designed, constructed, and maintained in conformance with the following policy: that existing healthy trees on the site are to be preserved to the maximum extent feasible. (Ordinance #2, adopted November 14, 2006)

Ch.10 § 3-4

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