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III. Hardcover 'Zones* Concept <br />The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has established a <br />standaid of 'no more than 25% hardcover' for properties located in <br />defined Shoreland areas. Orono has chosen to take this one step further <br />and create hardcover zones of established depth (identified by distance <br />from the OHWL) and with individual zone hardcover percentage <br />allowances that increase with distance from the lake. <br />Orono's hardcover zones are as follows. <br />0-75': C% hardcover allowed <br />75-250': 25% hardcover allowec <br />250-500': 30% hardcover allowed <br />500-1 000': 35% hardcover allowed <br />A. Advantages/Disadvantages <br />Using hardcover zones, the City encourages hardcovered areas to be <br />further from the lake, maximizing the area near the lake available for <br />filtration and stormwater pollutant removal. The zone concept <br />effectively eliminates bulking of hardcover at the lake setback line, <br />which can be significant for large properties. With the DNR standard, <br />the 25% hardcover allotment on a very narrow but deep lot could all be <br />'clumped' near the lake setback line. With Orono's zone concept, the <br />hardcover allotment for an individual property would have to be spread <br />out over the various zones. <br />Further, Orono's hardcover zone percentages result in significantly less <br />total hardcover on a property than the DNR's '25% of entire lot area' <br />standard. For instance, a lakeshore lot 100 feet wide and 250 feet deep <br />would be allowed 25% of 25,000 s.f. or 6,250 s.f. total under DNR <br />rules. Using the Orono zone concept, the same lot would only be <br />allowed 25% of the 75-250' zone, i.e. 25%xl00'xl75' = 4,375 s.f or <br />just 17.5% of the entire lot. <br />The advantages noted above might be considered as disadvantages by <br />a property owner who must meet Orono's stricter standards. One <br />disadvantage for the City is that the hardcover zones concept is not <br />commonly used by other cities, and it is a somewhat complex concept <br />for the layman to correctly understand. This makes administration <br />more difficult.