01-16-1996 Planning Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Zoning File #2099 January 10, 1996 Page 9 History of Zoning and Use of the Site: The Westlake Street area was originally platted in the late 1800s. The t>Tjical development of the area was for summer cabins. As the decades progressed, more and more property owners became permanent residents of the Lake Minnetonka area, converting the cabins to year-round residences. The Stubbs Bay area including Lots 10, 11, and 12 wiis not zoned bj* the Town of Orono until July 10, 1950, at which time the "Stubbs Bay District" was created requiring minimum building lot area of 1 acre. The Ciw Assessor’s records indicate the residence structure on Lot 10 was built in 1951. The City has no apparent record of when the cabins were constructed. In 1967. while the property was zoned 1 acre, a prior owner proposed a subdivision very similar to that proposed now, resulting in two lots of approximately 1 acre each. That was tabled by the City Council and no final action to approve such a suMivision ever occurred. In 1975 as part of the Cit\-wide rezoning, this property and much of the Stubbs Bay area was rezoned LR-IA, Single Family Lakeshore Residential, 2 acre minimum lot size. Rental Cabin Nonconformity The nonconformities associated with the two rental cabins are long standing. As early as 1962, Village Ordinance No. 45 stated that "There shall be no dwellings for more than one family upon any lot or parcel of land, and there shall be but one single family dwelling u[wn each lot or parcel of land', and went on to state that "Each strucUire to be used as a dwelling shall be set back ... at least 10* from any side property line . . City Ordinance No. 155 ^opted October 24. 1973 required that "No principal building shall be located closer than 75’ to the natural ordinary high water mark on a lake abutting the property ". The 1975 zoning code strengthened this to allow no buildings within 75’ of the lake. The lakeshore cabins have therefore been nonconforming as to their location since 1975 or earlier. Further, considering the historical use of Lots 10. 11, and 12 as a single site, the rental cabins have acted as accessory buildings subordinate to the principal use, and could not legally be rented out as dwellings. It is the City's position that the rental cabins are no longer a lawful nonconforming use. Per Zoning Code Section 10.03, Subd. 5(F) "... any lawful nonconforming use involving a structure with an assessor's fair market value upon the effective date of this zoning chapter (1/1/75) of $3,000 or less may be continued for a period of 36 months after the effective date of this zoning chapter, where upon such nonconforming use shall cease, unless brought into conformity with the zoning chapter". A review of the City Assessor’s records indicates the fair