02-19-1991 Planning Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Hardcover Standards August 9f 1990 Page 2 of 2 Exhibit A is a synopsis of the hardcover ordinances cf_ 22 id or abut Lake Minneconkar White Hear Li3.K&rcities which surround ..... or other significant lakes in the metro area. Exhibits 3 are a series of diagrams showing the relationship between Orono^s hardcover.'_alJLowances_ on —a-given-size/shape property,, compare- -o the DNR standard and the standard adopted by some other cities. Maps 1 through 3 show the variability based on lot width, .Maos^4 through 6 show the differences in allowed hardcover relatec uO lot depth and lot shape. It is clear from comparing Maps 1 and 3 that most other lake communities allow almost twice as much hardcover as Orono, on typical rectangular lakeshore lots. Maps 4 through 6 indicate that as the proportion of lot area in the 'o-75‘ zone increases, the differences between Orono s limits and those of most other lake communities are even more disproportionate. This also holds true for pie shaped lots. The point of this memo is to document the significant differences between Orono's code and virtually all other area require hardcover variances, Orono's stafr spend a disorooortionate amount of time on hardcover issues, and there is no qrestion that much private time and money is spent in planning for urooerty improvements only to be held up or denied ultimately because of hardcover issues. In most cases, a home owner or contractor who has not previously dealt with Orono's hardcover codes, would not "in their wildest dreams" think that they had a hardcbver problem, based on their experiences in most other cities. The concept of hardcover zones, rather than ijust a percentage of the entire lot area, is most often the point at which homeowners and contractors throw up their arms in disbelief. That is also one of the reasons why staff has to spend significant amounts of time reviewing hardcover calculations - quite often they are not done correctly, due the complexity of multiple zones. Lacking clear documentation that Orono's position is definitely correct and other cities are definitely wrong, I would hope that we could move towards taking some of the complexity out of our hardcover ordinance, and work toward a total l°t area denominator concept while still not allowing hardcover in the 75' zone. (That raises another issue - our 75' setback vs. tne DNR's 50' setback for Lake Minnetonka - but that is an issue ror a future date.)